Evgo 350 kW 4 station charger in Baker, Ca. (June 2017)

[PLUS EV]

I'm in general agreement with BerTX on the topic of EVGo. 30 minute shutoff + mediocre kW + absurd pricing = not practical for Teslas. Obviously anyone who can afford a Tesla can deal with the pricing, but the first two factors make it impractical and only useful as a backup or in emergency situations.

I should also add that I've had trouble initiating the charge and even once had it stop charging after a few minutes (only got like 10 RM that time). They did refund the latter but it required a 5-10 minute phone call and then had to be approved and refunded a few days later. I've only used them like 4 or 5 times so my "success" rate with them is only about 50%. And keep in mind success is paying $11-12 for 50-60 RM in 30 minutes.

 

[smilepak]

I drove by here yesterday. Still nothing.

 

[RubberToe]

I drove by here yesterday. Still nothing.

Looks like EVGO is now running on EST (Elon Standard Time) now. June 2017, eh?

RT

 

[cpa]

Do ya think that Tesla stole their thunder with its planned 40-stall SuperDuper Charger site?

Y'all know more about other BEVs than I. But I thought that there are not any BEVs manufactured today that can take really fast DC current AND have a large enough battery to be able to drive long distances without stopping every hour. I do not think the Bolt utilizes DC fast charging, but could be mistaken.

Perhaps when Volvo and others have BEVs that can go 250+ miles and allow for L3 charging, this site might get the green light. But for now, there will be zero demand.

 

[miimura]

The Bolt EV definitely does have fast charging, but it tapers quite severely. So if you want to minimize your charge time vs. driving time, you have to stop more often and use the lower portion of the battery capacity. The next most capable fast charging car is probably the Hyundai Ioniq EV. It can charge at more than 50kW, but it has only 28kWh usable battery capacity and they have not delivered many (~157 thru June) of these in the US yet. The RAV4 EV with JdeMO aftermarket CHAdeMO can take 125 amps (~45kW) up to 80% SOC before it starts tapering and may have its max current increased when there are chargers in public to test with.

Anyway, your core point stands - there are no cars on the market that can really take advantage of 125kW or 350kW CHAdeMO or CCS chargers yet. I'm still hoping that ChargePoint makes the third possible connector on their Express Plus system a Tesla connector.

 

[Zoomit]

From nautilus here: Test drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas - Page 2 - Chevrolet Bolt EV Forum

"I contacted EVgo to ask about the status of the Baker station, because press reports had said it would be open by June of this year and there's no sign of it. They responded in detail, explaining that there were some delays in the process since it was turning out to be more expensive than initially planned for. But now they have completed design and engineering, have the permits, and expect to begin construction later this year."

 

[Covfefe]

Been following this thread behind the scenes and took a 300 mile drive out to Baker to see for myself if construction had started.

It has not. I did meet Larae Harguess who is the owner of the worlds tallest thermometer (her dad actually built it). She informed me the EVgo station will be located on her property in the rear parking lot directly behind the thermometer.

She stated there were some technical and permit delays but it has been resolved and construction should start within the next 2 months.

On a side note Larae also runs the Temp 134 gift shop located at the base of the thermometer, all the proceeds from the sale of items goes to the upkeep of the thermometer to ensure that the lights stay lit. Larae and her husband are very nice people I met them when they came outside to take a picture of a couple who was passing through visiting roadside attractions.

Was informed they have a facebook page and they will be updating it with construction progress as it occurs.

 

[smilepak]

The shop still open? All these years I thought the building was abandon.

It is a popular landmark and should get revitalize with LED and a good stop/grab type food to compete with what Barstow is doing around the SC down there

 

[PLUS EV]

The shop still open? All these years I thought the building was abandon.

It is a popular landmark and should get revitalize with LED and a good stop/grab type food to compete with what Barstow is doing around the SC down there

I believe it was abandoned from about 2006-2013 ish. The thermometer was dark as well. I heard some absurd amount that they were paying for electricity to keep the thing lit. Not sure if true or scam. The Bun Boy Motel was also shuttered in recent years.

 

[Covfefe]

UPDATE:

Just took a drive to the site. I spoke with the foreman and was told the reason for the delay was due to the ground itself.

Apparently, when the location where the thermometer and store are located were being built they needed to raise the ground by 6 feet. Well the contractors at the time decided to use busted up parking lot concrete from another site that was demo`d.

When the construction crew for the new EV station "broke ground" they ran into all this old concrete garbage and had to tear it all out and regrade it in order to have solid footers for the associated buildings that are going in for the electrical equipment.

All the electrical up to the street has been installed (the electrical stuff is in place and good to go) , what they are working on now is the trenches and preparing for the footers. Expected grand opening is sometime January or February.

 

[Covfefe]

BTW....contractor told me the site is getting 4000 amps of power....wow

 

[RubberToe]

I should have pics of the site posted later today. Saw it from the freeway driving past Saturday. Looked like the canopy was up. Also saw a large mountain of concrete piled up confirming one of the prior posts.

RT

 

[ecarfan]

Now that Tesla has opened a 40 stall Supercharger in Baker, the vast majority of Tesla owners will use that location and I believe will have little interest in this EVgo charge location when it finally opens.

 

[David99]

BTW....contractor told me the site is getting 4000 amps of power....wow

Power is Volt * Ampere. Let's assume 207 Volt (typical for commercial sites) that's the equivalent of 5 Superchargers feeding 10 stalls.

 

[miimura]

Power is Volt * Ampere. Let's assume 207 Volt (typical for commercial sites) that's the equivalent of 5 Superchargers feeding 10 stalls.

Each Supercharger cabinet pulls a max of 192 amps per phase (277V * 192A * 3ph = 160kVA gross maximum grid draw). I would imagine that the more accurate calculation is 4000 / 192 = 20.83 which would power 40 stalls.

Pivoting to 350kW CCS chargers, I would expect 500A per 350kW charger cabinet which would be about 500A * 277V * 3ph = 415kVA assuming 85% efficiency which would probably be about 10 stalls without sharing or 20 stalls with cabinet sharing similar to SuperChargers.

 

[Jeff N]

Each Supercharger cabinet pulls a max of 192 amps per phase (277V * 192A * 3ph = 160kVA gross maximum grid draw). I would imagine that the more accurate calculation is 4000 / 192 = 20.83 which would power 40 stalls.

Pivoting to 350kW CCS chargers, I would expect 500A per 350kW charger cabinet which would be about 500A * 277V * 3ph = 415kVA assuming 85% efficiency which would probably be about 10 stalls without sharing or 20 stalls with cabinet sharing similar to SuperChargers.

I suspect that EVgo’s Baker location will be using the Terra HD charger hardware from ABB based on the fact that EVgo has a non-public experimental ultra fast charger from ABB installed at a site in Fremont and because the conceptual artwork for the Baker site shows charger posts (stalls) that look obviously similar to the final Terra HD design.

Here are the specs for the Terra HD. At 175 kVA, I guess that implies around 20 stalls with dual cabinet sharing.

 

[PLUS EV]

Now that Tesla has opened a 40 stall Supercharger in Baker, the vast majority of Tesla owners will use that location and I believe will have little interest in this EVgo charge location when it finally opens.

It's incredibly interesting from the overall perspective of the EV industry so I have to disagree with you there! But sure, if you mean that Tesla owners won't use it, then I think you are right. If it's CCS, I don't even think we could use it.

 

[RubberToe]

Unless I'm terribly mistaken, the site won't have more than something like 4 charging spaces. The canopy in place looks just like the first post I made in this thread. That rendering has 4 charging pedestals.

RT

 

[Jeff N]

Unless I'm terribly mistaken, the site won't have more than something like 4 charging spaces. The canopy in place looks just like the first post I made in this thread. That rendering has 4 charging pedestals.

RT

I know nothing about the actual capacity of the transformer being installed at Baker, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to me if it was sized so that more charging spaces can easily be added in the future. That is being done at other EVgo sites funded by the California Energy Commission and the Baker site is also funded by a CEC grant.

 

[Zoomit]

I suspect that EVgo’s Baker location will be using the Terra HD charger hardware from ABB based on the fact that EVgo has a non-public experimental ultra fast charger from ABB installed at a site in Fremont and because the conceptual artwork for the Baker site shows charger posts (stalls) that look obviously similar to the final Terra HD design.

Here are the specs for the Terra HD. At 175 kVA, I guess that implies around 20 stalls with dual cabinet sharing.

I think you're right, but for reference ABB calls them Terra HP (not HD).

Here's the ABB product leaflet:
https://library.e.abb.com/public/6be4df8ecc7648fbb401feb2fb7274f6/4EVC700601-LFUS_TerraHP_UL_web.pdf