DCFC Stations Bakersfield to the Sierra Nevada East Side Coming

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paulgipe

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 2, 2014
Messages
428
Location
Bakersfield, CA 93305
Long overlooked by California's electrification effort, the vast area east of Bakersfield will soon be getting its first public DC fast charging (DCFC) stations for electric vehicles (EVs).

Drivers of non-Tesla EVs traveling east of Bakersfield currently find a veritable charging desert. There are no public DCFC stations east of Bakersfield until you reach Baker on the route to Las Vegas--and that station only recently opened. Tesla operates private fast charging stations, what they call superchargers, in Mojave, Inyokern, and Mammoth Lakes, as well as elsewhere.

RTEmagicC_East_Side_DC_Fast_Charge_Sites_-_Google_My_Maps.png.png


However, three programs are underway to locate stations on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Two are being developed by the state of California. The third is being developed privately by the Volkswagen (VW) subsidiary Electrify America.

Two of those programs should see construction begin on several stations this summer. All stations should be completed by the end of 2019.

The California Energy Commission (CEC)'s Interregional Corridor contract GFO-15-603 awarded grants to two companies, ChargePoint and EV Connect, for installations in Tehachapi, Mojave, Inyokern, and Kramer Junction.

CalTrans, the state's transportation department, will be installing stations in its 30-30 program at safety roadside rest areas at Coso Junction, and Independence, as well as at its district headquarters in Bishop.

ChargePoint plans to install a DCFC station in Tehachapi in the Capital Cities development north of Hwy 58, another near Inyokern and Hwy 14, and another at the Kramer Junction of Hwy 58 and US 395.

EV Connect is responsible for installing a station at the airport in Inyokern and another in Mojave. They are expected to break ground on the Inyokern station this month.

VW will be installing a number of stations under its consent decree for Dieselgate. VW's Electrify America hired Black & Veatch to build the sites--the same people who built Tesla's supercharger network in the state. Though VW builds cars using the CCS standard, Electrify America will install both CHAdeMO, the Japanese standard, and CCS connections. They will future proof the stations with the capability of raising charging capacity up to 350 kW. Typically, non-Tesla stations charge at no more than 50 kW per connection. Electrify America's stalls will accept RFID, mobile pay apps, and credit cards for payment.

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All 600 chargers for VW's first cycle of development in California have been ordered. Manufacturers selected include ABB, BTC Power, Efacec, and Signet. Permitting for the selected sites begin this quarter.

Electrify America's deliberately vague maps don't provide much detail, but it appears they plan a station somewhere between Bakersfield and Mojave. They also have stations planned for somewhere between Inyokern and Olancha and a third station somewhere around Bishop.

CalTrans has yet to award contracts for its stations. Nevertheless, they are scheduled to be on line by mid-2019.
 
Just saw this on Plugshare:

Dow Villa Motel (Coming Soon)
310 S Main St, Lone Pine CA 93545

Electrify America Cycle 3 site with approved construction permit, per Electrify America Q3 2022 Report to the California Air Resources Board.

Finally! Now we just need to find out if the more northern site shown on their Cycle 3 map will be in Lee Vining, June Lake or Mammoth. It's impossible to tell from their map given its scale, and they may not have known either at the time Cycle 3 was released.
 
Paul, I agree it's unlikely that it'll be usable any time this ski season (or for people coming south and heading to Death Valley), but hopefully it'll be online in time for next summer.
 
Aaaaand now the Coming soon site in Lone Pine has disappeared from Plugshare's map. I'm guessing EA asked them to pull it as they were at a very early stage. I'll keep checking occasionally to see when it reappears.
 
Thanks Guy for keeping an eye on EA's plan. A station in Lone Pine would be very helpful for people coming from and going to Death Valley.

Now, if you can just prod EA to do a better job of keeping their stations up and functioning at full capacity. It's got to the point that I now will charge elsewhere if I have a choice. ;)

BTW. This summer we spent a week in Lee Vining. There were five of us and though I was a little unsure how it'd work, we got everyone in the Bolt plus our sticks and day packs. No smoke from wild fires either. We had a great week seeing some of our favorite country.

Paul
 
paulgipe said:
Thanks Guy for keeping an eye on EA's plan. A station in Lone Pine would be very helpful for people coming from and going to Death Valley.

Now, if you can just prod EA to do a better job of keeping their stations up and functioning at full capacity. It's got to the point that I now will charge elsewhere if I have a choice. ;)

BTW. This summer we spent a week in Lee Vining. There were five of us and though I was a little unsure how it'd work, we got everyone in the Bolt plus our sticks and day packs. No smoke from wild fires either. We had a great week seeing some of our favorite country.

Paul


Paul, by any chance is your Bolt red, and do you have a small sign you leave on the dash saying it's okay to unplug you if the charge is finished? I ask because when I rented the Ioniq 5 and drove over to the east side in August I saw such a Bolt plugged in and parked overnight at Gus Hess, and you'd mentioned elsewhere that you'd left it overnight there once and that you'd seen an Ioniq 5 charging there. I charged there a short time one night before driving back up Tioga road to sleep higher and acclimate, then returned there pre-dawn the next morning to charge some more and saw the Bolt both times. I knew it had been there all night as I never saw the driver either time, and the car hadn't moved, but I walked over and had breakfast in the morning and IIRR it was gone when I got back.

As to EA's reliability, while I've had occasional problems with them a study carried out in California showed they achieved the highest reliability of the charging networks, admittedly a low bar at the moment. I'll see if I can find it again and post the link. I've only used EA and Chargepoint myself, and while my average is higher at CP I've used them so few times (EA Pass + being cheaper, plus several of the cars I was renting could take advantage of 150 and/or 350kW charging) that I don't think my experience with them is statistically significant. I will say that I've only used a CP card to activate them, and it's worked. Where I'm usually going there aren't any EVgo sites so I've never used them, which is a pity because as an AAA member I don't have to pay monthly or session fees, just per kWh fees.
 
Guy,
Our Bolt is Oasis Blue and I did leave it overnight by accident at the park. But I also do put a placard in the windshield that says it's ok to unplug. Funny, I've practically stopped doing it now. So many chargers now doesn't seem much point in it.

Not read though. :)

Paul
 
I may be mis-remembering the color of the Bolt I saw, but I'd swear it was red. I charged there in the Ioniq Aug. 13-14th, then in an EV6 Aug. 25-26th. I see from my notes that I was in the EV6 the time I left Gus Hess about 10:45 p.m. on the 25th after charging and returned at 4:10 the next morning to do some more, so my memory was wrong on which car I was in on that occasion. Ah well, they say memory's the second thing to go, and I forget what the first is :lol:
 
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