Supercharger - Birmingham, AL

[atlg8or]

Heard from a source that the B'ham SC will be up in Spring. Hopeful...

 

[Chipper]

Stayed at the Hyatt in Birmingham this weekend. I did a lot of running around and decided I needed to add a little bit of a charge to get back home without worrying about running the battery to low. Alabama Power has four charging stations at their headquarters building at 42 and 44Inverness Center Parkway. From their lot it is only a few hundred feet to a large shopping center with restaurants, Target, Best Buy and many more stores to visit while you wait. Since we were staying at the Hyatt my husband decided to leave the car for a longer charge so he just walked to the Hyatt. It is about a fifteen minute walk. It is a lovely area. We left the car there for a few hours while we attended our meeting then picked up the car with nearly a full charge.

The stations use a Charge Point Card or call if you don't have one call 888-758-4389. It did take two calls and several several minutes to get someone to answer on a Saturday afternoon, but it was free. It began charging very slow because ther was another car charging but it speeded up after they left.

Not or a Super Charger but nice to know about if you are traveling in this area. Oh yes the Purple Onion is a great place to eat in the shopping center.

Does this location have a CHAdeMo fast charger or is it just J1772?

 

[N4HHE]

Plugshare lists two J1772 at APC Southern Co., 42 Inverness Center Pl, Birmingham, AL 35242. Thats nice but hard to get excited about.

 

[atlg8or]

Wow just looked at the TM SC page and both B'ham and Huntsville are no longer on the 2016 map. Originally 2015 now looks like 2017 at earliest? Anyone heard anything more? This would be hugely disappointing.

 

[jbm2002]

Wow just looked at the TM SC page and both B'ham and Huntsville are no longer on the 2016 map. Originally 2015 now looks like 2017 at earliest? Anyone heard anything more? This would be hugely disappointing.

I just looked on the TM page, and there are still 2 SC planned for Middle and North AL

 

[atlg8or]

Birmingham and Huntsville were no longer on the 2016 map... ^^

Now they have been added back... Must have been a mistake when they updated the map. Whew!

 

[atlg8or]

Has anyone been by the Summit or Colonnade recently to see if there is any progress? Or has anyone checked on permits?

 

[CSFTN]

How about wildly guessing a (another) location? How about 3489 Lowery Parkway, Fultondale? Its a newish large shopping area, not exactly a mall, 4 minutes north of the intersection of I-22 and I-65, just outside of B'ham? Target, Best Buy, about 10 places to eat, immediately accessible to I-65 all directions, seems like its reasonably safe from criminals. Google Maps


Or are most people convinced it has to be closer to the intersection of I-65 and I-20?

 

[N4HHE]

I agree Birmingham needs to be between I-22 and I-20, but that's a nasty area.

Decatur is none too natural either. No fun to drive through. But if driving Chattanooga to Memphis I'd chose I-565 to Decatur (crossing I-65) then US-72 Alt west. However Athens AL offers a much friendlier interchange with I-65. Isn't anyplace close to eat or shop near I-65/I-565.

 

[Steepler2k]

I think it depends on if they're only going to place one or two. If only one, then somewhere close to the 65 and 20/59 interchange like the uptown district or the 65 and 459 interchange like the galleria would probably be the biggest bang for the buck. People coming into town on 22 can catch either of those fairly easily as they head further south or east. If they're considering two, that changes it a whole lot.

 

[N4HHE]

Memphis-Atlanta is going to be a popular route. Diverting to Hoover is a significant detour.

 

[Steepler2k]

Memphis-Atlanta is going to be a popular route. Diverting to Hoover is a significant detour.

Which is why I mentioned 65/20/59 area of the Uptown district.

 

[ElectricTundra]

B'ham > Nashville and B'ham > Memphis will both need chargers somewhere along the route. I'd guess Cullman for 65 as thats reachable from Nashville, Auburn, and Greenville. Then Hamilton for 22? Pell City for 59 would reach Atlanta, Cullman, Hamilton, and Greenville.

 

[N4HHE]

Cullman is awfully close to Birmingham. Decatur/Athens will be about half way Birmingham/Nashville and in comfortable 137 mile range of Chattanooga.

 

[ElectricTundra]

Decatur is really close to Nashville though and would require an extra charge stop for many people coming down 65 towards the gulf to reach Auburn or Greenville (and Meridian?).

 

[N4HHE]

Decatur is really close to Nashville though and would require an extra charge stop for many people coming down 65 towards the gulf to reach Auburn or Greenville (and Meridian?).

Athens, AL to the Galleria in Hoover is 106 miles. Athens to Tesla in Franklin, TN is 86 miles. That is too far with nothing between yet not too close especially with the upcoming flood of 200 mile Model 3's. Galleria to Cullman is about 60 miles, quite short. Cullman to Franklin is 130 miles, reasonable. Its just that a Supercharger in Decatur/Athens serves a greater population than Cullman and is a waypoint for east/west travel in addition to north/south.

 

[CSFTN]

Cullman is on an East-West Route? You mean US 278?

Yes its roughly 1/2 way between B'ham and Decatur, but it seems pretty unlikely to me. Franklin-Hoover is 170 miles, so I agree there will ultimately be one between them ... closer to Decatur.

 

[ElectricTundra]

Athens, AL to the Galleria in Hoover is 106 miles. Athens to Tesla in Franklin, TN is 86 miles. That is too far with nothing between yet not too close especially with the upcoming flood of 200 mile Model 3's. Galleria to Cullman is about 60 miles, quite short. Cullman to Franklin is 130 miles, reasonable. Its just that a Supercharger in Decatur/Athens serves a greater population than Cullman and is a waypoint for east/west travel in addition to north/south.

Perhaps. But that makes for a lot of charging stops on the southern side of Nashville. Some people can make it from Decatur to Auburn or Greenville but most will likely need an intermediate stop.

Nashville > Greenville is 302 miles so Cullman gives you a couple of 150 mile legs while Decatur makes for three 100 mile legs. Similar for Nashville > Auburn (281 miles) and Nashville > Meridian (317 miles). Lots of short legs gets irritating.

In either case it's probably a good thing I'm not designing the supercharger network.

 

[N4HHE]

Perhaps. But that makes for a lot of charging stops on the southern side of Nashville. Some people can make it from Decatur to Auburn or Greenville but most will likely need an intermediate stop.

Nashville > Greenville is 302 miles so Cullman gives you a couple of 150 mile legs while Decatur makes for three 100 mile legs. Similar for Nashville > Auburn (281 miles) and Nashville > Meridian (317 miles). Lots of short legs gets irritating.

In either case it's probably a good thing I'm not designing the supercharger network.

You assume all are driving I-65. Birmingham is a must for north/south and east/west. Franklin to the south end of Birmingham is the same 190 miles as Franklin to Louisville. Its not acceptable in the long term. Galleria at Hoover to Greenville Supercharger is 123 miles. That seems to be Tesla's target spacing. 140 miles Galleria to Meridian, MS, which is also acceptable but probably more than one would like to regularly do in a 200 mile Model 3.

For the long game Decatur/Athens and Birmingham must have Superchargers.

 

[N4HHE]

Cullman is on an East-West Route? You mean US 278?

No, I mean Decatur/Athens is an east/west waypoint while Cullman is not. We have a lot coming through Huntsville/Decatur/Athens headed to Memphis and Mississippi.