Supercharger - Cheyenne, WY

[purplewalt]

I think that you are correct, and typically the local power company expects the customer/contractor to install the conduit from their source of HV power to the transformer location along with the conduit from the transformer to the customer service entrance. Also, the concrete pad is usually just a piece of precast concrete. If both of those assumptions are true, when the power company line folks arrive it could only take a day or so to install the transformer and make the final connections.

My experience is most times, concrete for larger Transformers is cast-in-place with reinforcing (rebar) steel and formwork.
Takes a couple days for the concrete to set up, then set the transformer, hook it up and get ready for some electrical power.

 

[Cottonwood]

I went up the Cheyenne site yesterday. Here are some updated pictures. The site is so clean, in a big parking lot that I drove by it the first time. The blue dot in the last picture shows the actual location in the parking lot, just north of the "Olive Garden."

No transformer, for sure. What is worse, is that it looks like they are going to have to some pretty big excavation across the shopping center parking lot to bring the HV lines in. The conduits that are there, all appear to go towards the Tesla equipment area. Feeds to the two restaurants, as shown by the locates look like the HV lines come in from the west. There was no evidence of excavation that direction. My guess is that the shopping center asked that the big dig across their parking lot wait until after the holiday shopping season is over. The transformer is of the transformer serving the Olive Garden, immediately south of the Supercharger site.

Also, the head-in parking locations of the pedestals is pretty interesting. To have a reasonable reach, you need to put the front right tire on, or almost on, the curb. This will be very interesting during snow plowing in big winter storms...

 

[Wattson]

Thanks for the great update cottonwood!

 

[purplewalt]

@ Cottonwood,
Very nice recon work.

Agreed, the existing conduit feeds connect to the EVSEs inside the paddock.
The soil or gravel has not been compacted, they will be digging it up again to lay the feeder HV conduit from the existing transformer.

Yes, it is a mess if the contractor has to dig a full trench to lay all the conduit, and its also very disruptive to mall and restaurant traffic.
Mall Landlords and their tenants love happy customers, happy customers stay and spend money and Christmas time is always their biggest sales period.
Score one for Santa.

For Corsicana SpC, the contractor bored the path laterally about 250 feet from the (future) transformer pad under existing concrete parking lot and drive area to the supercharger pad area.

View attachment 33556

Very different way to accomplish the same thing, instead of demoing and trenching and pouring concrete/asphalt.
...Of course, it was about 60 to 80 degrees warmer in Corsicana during October than it currently is in Cheyenne, and I don't know how deep the ground is frozen.
But frozen ground, either with a front-end loader or a trencher is some tough digging.

 

[slipdrive]

Will be good to see those conduits connected. The fact Cheyenne has a local Power Company could be a factor. Let's plan a lunch run. Great local steakhouses in Cheyenne....

 

[wycolo]

> Great local steakhouses in Cheyenne.... [slipdrive]

Poor Richard's - 2233 Lincolnway. :wink:
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[Cottonwood]

Agreed, the existing conduit feeds connect to the EVSEs inside the paddock.
The soil or gravel has not been compacted, they will be digging it up again to lay the feeder HV conduit from the existing transformer.

Yes, it is a mess if the contractor has to dig a full trench to lay all the conduit, and its also very disruptive to mall and restaurant traffic.
Mall Landlords and their tenants love happy customers, happy customers stay and spend money and Christmas time is always their biggest sales period.
Score one for Santa.

For Corsicana SpC, the contractor bored the path laterally about 250 feet from the (future) transformer pad under existing concrete parking lot and drive area to the supercharger pad area.

Very different way to accomplish the same thing, instead of demoing and trenching and pouring concrete/asphalt.
...Of course, it was about 60 to 80 degrees warmer in Corsicana during October than it currently is in Cheyenne, and I don't know how deep the ground is frozen.
But frozen ground, either with a front-end loader or a trencher is some tough digging.

I saw a contractor in Boulder (very similar climate to Cheyenne) today doing a horizontal drill install of 4 large conduits that would be big enough for the 3-phase and neutral, HV cables; in fact, that may have been what they were installing. If they can do that in Boulder in December, it seems the right way to do it in Cheyenne.

Can't wait! When Cheyenne is finished, it connects Colorado to five more Superchargers leading east!!! :biggrin:

 

[purplewalt]

Can't wait! When Cheyenne is finished, it connects Colorado to five more Superchargers leading east!!! :biggrin:

Uhm, in addition to Cheyenne when the SpC (which are already near completion) in MN, WI and OH are opened, you will be able to travel almost to Western PA!!!
Now THAT'S some serious connecting of the RED DOTS (over 1,800 miles!)

 

[stevezzzz]

Today and tomorrow would be good weather days to pour concrete in Cheyenne...just sayin'. :wink:

 

[Cottonwood]

Today and tomorrow would be good weather days to pour concrete in Cheyenne...just sayin'. :wink:

I needed to go to Cheyenne for other reasons today, and unfortunately, not in the MS, but I did get to drop by the construction site.

Great progress! A construction crew was there and had just completed the horizontal drilling operation to install conduit from the Supercharger transformer site to the Olive Garden transformer to the Chipotle transformer. They were in the process of backfilling the transformer location. They told me that they would finish today with the placement of a precast concrete platform to be ready for the transformer. He expected the local utility to be out to install the transformer and pull the HV cable in the next few days, maybe even tomorrow!

Below is a quad-copter video and a few stills from today. The wind was picking up and a little gusty (typical of Wyoming), the auto-pilot of the quad-copter is not that stable and there is no stabilization for the video camera; as a result the video is a little shaky. In addition, I wanted to get the shots and get the copter back on the ground, so my control adds even more jerks. :redface:

It looks like Cheyenne could be on-line pretty soon! :biggrin:

 

[stevezzzz]

Thanks for the update, Cottonwood. I was planning to drive up there tomorrow; guess I don't have to, now. Only four charging bays?

I see a snow-covered concrete slab to the north of the last charging pedestal; is that what they're planning to use as the transformer pad?

 

[Cottonwood]

Thanks for the update, Cottonwood. I was planning to drive up there tomorrow; guess I don't have to, now. Only four charging bays?

I see a snow-covered concrete slab to the north of the last charging pedestal; is that what they're planning to use as the transformer pad?

I think that is the precast slab that they are moving to where the transformer will go. The transfromer will go on the SE corner of the Supercharger equipment. Here is an iPhone pic that I took today. The precast slab and the transformer will go on top of those conduits.

BTW, here is the reply that I got from one of the construction workers to whom I sent a link to the video and this post:

Thank you for the pictures and video, very nice. A pleasure working with you.

 

[Sgt Barone]

Added the info to PlugShare. If anyone wants to edit or add pictures, feel free!

 

[slipdrive]

Tesla station to bring electric cars to Wyoming - Yahoo News

Great AP article this morning on the Lusk, WY SC.

Makes it sound like Mark K at the Covered Wagon may need to post a sentry at the Fort ! But they have to get dramatic to drive interest. Good stuff.

 

[wycolo]

Cheyenne Air Station takes out unidentified drone threatening electrical installation. Film at 11.
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[Cottonwood]

Tesla station to bring electric cars to Wyoming - Yahoo News

Great AP article this morning on the Lusk, WY SC.

Makes it sound like Mark K at the Covered Wagon may need to post a sentry at the Fort ! But they have to get dramatic to drive interest. Good stuff.

The MS that they used to test the Superchargers was probably hauled up from Denver on a car carrier trailer behind a nice, big pickup. Who will be the first customer MS that drives to Lusk, and Murdo. I thought about hypermiling it from the front range to Lusk, but it wasn't worth in the winter. I'm sure that Lusk will get some Tesla visitors after Cheyenne opens...hopefully soon.

 

[imherkimer]

I live near Sheridan, in northern Wyoming.
Need to do a trip to Denver for my Model S's 12500 mile checkup. I have been waiting for a sign that the Cheyenne supercharger will open. No sign yet, and it looks like it is probably going to delay too long to be of any use to me for this trip. I thought about visiting Lusk on the way down, but it is not "on the way." In fact it would add over 80 miles, just to get there and back from I-25.
Lusk is not a helpful location, and the only reason I can see that they would put the first supercharger there is for Elon's chosen route coast to coast. Would have been better to put the Supercharger in at Wheatland.
I will have to get a full range charge at a 14-50 in Casper (at least 6-7 hours of charging time because of range reduction in winter). That full range (85kwh battery) may be just barely enough to get to Cheyenne (slowly).
Then I will have to get a full range charge again (find a 14-50) over another 7 hours or so charging to get to Denver Service Center. So that turns a 6.5 hour journey in a gas car into a 20+ hour trip in the Tesla.
Ugh, in winter, this is really a pain!
I had hoped there would be a supercharger along the way. Lusk is the definition of "out-of-the-way." Way out of the way!

 

[stevezzzz]

I'd be tempted to hold off on that service appointment until after the Cheyenne SC opens, then drive the two-lanes out from Douglas to Lusk and on to Cheyenne. Although, now that I look more closely, the route from Sheridan to Lusk is actually 250 miles, too far for a winter leg. Still, a relatively short 50A charging stop in Casper or Douglas will get you to Lusk.

I sure hope there's a future WY Supercharger station along the I-25 route north from Cheyenne; halfway to the planned SC (2015 map) near Sheridan would be a point 15 or 20 miles east of Casper. Driving to Billings via Lusk and Gillette is not ideal.

 

[stevezzzz]

The NFL is overrated. It's going to be warm (for WY in winter, at least) all the rest of this week. The optimist in me says the Cheyenne SC could well be open by the weekend. Even milder temps are forecast for Saturday: I propose we tentatively organize a road trip for CO and WY owners with an eye to visiting both Cheyenne and Lusk SC's. The truly adventurous might choose to go on to Rapid City and make it an overnighter.

Cottonwood, after reading that AP article, it might be best if we left the quadcopters in the car during a Lusk stop. :wink:

 

[stevezzzz]

[Update]

Bummer! I drove up to see the Cheyenne SC progress for myself. Since Cottonwood's report last week there has been little progress: they've set the slab but there is no transformer in sight and no one was working there at noon today.

It's not a total loss, however: there's a Five Guys in the Frontier Mall. :biggrin: