Minnesota Superchargers (location speculation, discussion)

[tharasix]

Thanks for the tip on the Grand Forks CHAdeMO charger and Roseau 14-50's. Looks to be a 62.5kw at Wendy's according to Plugshare. Good to hear no issues in winter at 20s from Roseau to Bemidji, maybe I'm over thinking the cold weather range for that segment due to the Tesla planner not showing an option unless you have the long range S.

It's worth mentioning that I did this in a LR RWD Model 3.

 

[tharasix]

When looking at the US map & seeing how many SCs there are in some areas it is disappointing that there aren't more up north to enable more travel options to northern MN or along the north shore of Lake Superior. It would be awesome to have around Grand Marais.

I've been all over northern Minnesota, including the BWCA and the North Shore. It takes some planning and the CHAdeMO adapter helps a lot, but there are a lot of level 2 chargers around. I spent a few nights at Bluefin Bay which has a couple great J1772 installations, and that was enough to drive up to Grand Portage and down to Two Harbors, and I didn't have to use the CHAdeMO in Lutsen. I've made it Thunder Bay in the fall. The Adventure Inn has a couple level 2 chargers in Ely. There's a CHAdeMO in Virginia. You're not going to be able to pull off a day trip along the length of MN-1 with a Tesla, but with some quality time with PlugShare, you can manage most trips.

We're definitely better off than the UP of Michigan.

 

[tharasix]

The new Find Us update on Tesla's site caused some interesting changes to Minnesota's supercharger plans.

• The Richfield pin is gone.
• All metro area suburban chargers are now slated for 2022.
• There's a pin in Vadnais Heights now. My memory is hazy, but I feel this is a slight move from before.
• St. Paul is slated for Q2 2021.
• Mankato has been added, as mentioned in another thread. Q4 2021
• Bemidji has been added. Q3 2021
• Menominee, WI has been added. Q4 2021.

I'm pretty happy with these changes. Richfield was pretty redundant with Minneapolis and Bloomington. Bemidji is going to be huge for weekend trips to NW Minnesota. The CHAdeMO charger up there now is in the middle of nowhere. Mankato also fills a nice gap in southern Minnesota. Menominee is interesting, as it's not that far from Eau Claire, and Eau Claire to the Twin Cities is very doable for most Teslas, even in the winter. Of course, pushing all the suburban Twin Cities chargers out to 2022 isn't great, but the ones we have at the moment seem to be handling the load, especially if we get the St. Paul charger as advertised.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Tesla needs a Supercharger in Grand Marias. Was really hoping to see that on the updated map...but no.

 

[CYBRTRKM3]

I see Bemidji MN is now on the Tesla Supercharger map for Q3 2021. That will help with travel to very northwestern part of MN.

 

[hybridbear]

I see Bemidji MN is now on the Tesla Supercharger map for Q3 2021. That will help with travel to very northwestern part of MN.

We need one further up the north shore too, like Grand Marais. Because right now spending time on the north shore is very difficult unless you're staying at lodging with a 240V charger. Tesla could maybe do an urban supercharger up there to keep the costs down on the install.

 

[DeepBlueMN]

Bemidji will be a great SC location; it will open up a lot more of northern MN for easier Tesla driving. I know there are already some L2 chargers in Bemidji, but nothing beats a convenient Supercharger!
I agree Grand Marias needs a Supercharger; even a 72kW urban charger would be OK. I’d like to be able to round trip from Duluth to Grand Portage state park and back. Can’t really do that in a Model 3/Y. There are a few destination chargers on the way, so currently you have to overnight about half way.
Also, the south side of metro area could really use a SuperCharger; currently you have to go almost all the way to IA for a charger.

 

[ColoradoEV]

Bemidji will be a great SC location; it will open up a lot more of northern MN for easier Tesla driving. I know there are already some L2 chargers in Bemidji, but nothing beats a convenient Supercharger!
I agree Grand Marias needs a Supercharger; even a 72kW urban charger would be OK. I’d like to be able to round trip from Duluth to Grand Portage state park and back. Can’t really do that in a Model 3/Y. There are a few destination chargers on the way, so currently you have to overnight about half way.
Also, the south side of metro area could really use a SuperCharger; currently you have to go almost all the way to IA for a charger.

I really think Tesla under utilizes those urban 72 chargers. They really do hit the spot for those rural areas that people tend to want to spend more time in. I'm thinking of Ely or Grand Marais where that is the destination, not the thru-fare. I'd imagine those are cheaper to set up too.

 

[hybridbear]

I really think Tesla under utilizes those urban 72 chargers. They really do hit the spot for those rural areas that people tend to want to spend more time in. I'm thinking of Ely or Grand Marais where that is the destination, not the thru-fare. I'd imagine those are cheaper to set up too.

And in a rural area they wouldn't need a lot of them, 4 would probably be sufficient, 6 maximum.

 

[Evbwcaer]

We need one further up the north shore too, like Grand Marais. Because right now spending time on the north shore is very difficult unless you're staying at lodging with a 240V charger. Tesla could maybe do an urban supercharger up there to keep the costs down on the install.

A Grand Marais SC would also connect the US to Canada (Duluth to Thunder Bay). Right now, those connections are quite limited in the western half of the continent.

 

[tharasix]

Duluth to Thunder Bay is only 188 miles. I've made that trip in the fall before. In my RWD LR 3 during a major cold snap (-20F), I was able to make it from Duluth to Lutsen using 50% of my battery, so perhaps a new Supercharger would only be needed for worst cases.

 

[hybridbear]

Duluth to Thunder Bay is only 188 miles. I've made that trip in the fall before. In my RWD LR 3 during a major cold snap (-20F), I was able to make it from Duluth to Lutsen using 50% of my battery, so perhaps a new Supercharger would only be needed for worst cases.

188 is a long way between SCs, though. Plus Tesla owners staying along the north shore can have challenges if they don't have destination charging.

 

[ColoradoEV]

Duluth to Thunder Bay is only 188 miles. I've made that trip in the fall before. In my RWD LR 3 during a major cold snap (-20F), I was able to make it from Duluth to Lutsen using 50% of my battery, so perhaps a new Supercharger would only be needed for worst cases.

As an SR+ owner, I’d be sweating it. Or those who own an older S with a 60 or 40kw pack might not even consider it.

 

[emiliorescigno]

A couple disjoint thoughts regarding travel up north:

My wife and I went up to stay near Grand Marais over New Years' weekend; we lucked out and our AirBnb had a NEMA 14-50 to use, which made the entire trip a breeze. I saw at least a dozen other Teslas along the north shore, and actually had to wait at the supercharger in Duluth for about 2 minutes (the first time I've ever waited at a supercharger!) on the way back. I assume most of these vehicles used L2 charging where they were staying. Most of the resorts up there seem to have J1772s or Tesla destination chargers available.

We also tried to use the CHAdeMO at the 25kW station in Lutsen, and it wasn't functioning. I had a discussion with the store owner, and he said he had been frustrated with ZEF Energy's lack of action on maintain the station, and that they had breached the terms of their contract on maintaining it. I called Greenlots (who do the billing for the station), and they said there was a ticket that had been opened in July, and there had been no effort on the part of Greenlots or ZEF to repair it. Last check on PlugShare seems to show the billing is now disabled for that station and it works for free now (probably as a result of the machine gun of voicemails and calls I made that weekend!)

One last thought: Bemidji currently has a very reliable CHAdeMO station that has been available for a few years now, and pumps out a solid 50kW. It's no supercharger, but definitely makes travel further north with a Tesla viable. The infrastructure along the north shore seems more in need of uplift than near Bemidji.

As Minnesotans, we sort of live "at the edge of the world" as far as EV infrastructure is concerned, and it's a 100% viable and easy thing to do. My wife and I have been 100% EV for over a year now, and have not once felt like we've been limited in what we can do, or that we need to switch back to gas.

 

[superflyrolla]

Is this supercharger still open? It’s not on my nav right now.

 

[vikingrob]

Whi

The new Find Us update on Tesla's site caused some interesting changes to Minnesota's supercharger plans.

• The Richfield pin is gone.
• All metro area suburban chargers are now slated for 2022.
• There's a pin in Vadnais Heights now. My memory is hazy, but I feel this is a slight move from before.
• St. Paul is slated for Q2 2021.
• Mankato has been added, as mentioned in another thread. Q4 2021
• Bemidji has been added. Q3 2021
• Menominee, WI has been added. Q4 2021.

I'm pretty happy with these changes. Richfield was pretty redundant with Minneapolis and Bloomington. Bemidji is going to be huge for weekend trips to NW Minnesota. The CHAdeMO charger up there now is in the middle of nowhere. Mankato also fills a nice gap in southern Minnesota. Menominee is interesting, as it's not that far from Eau Claire, and Eau Claire to the Twin Cities is very doable for most Teslas, even in the winter. Of course, pushing all the suburban Twin Cities chargers out to 2022 isn't great, but the ones we have at the moment seem to be handling the load, especially if we get the St. Paul charger as advertised.

While the Richfield pin isn't there, I still believe there is a need for a supercharger in the south metro. The usefulness of the Bloomington supercharger would depend to an extent on the location; given where other superchargers are located, I would be led to think that it may be at the Target at 494 & Penn. Vadnais Heights is one where I would guess the location to be at the Target store there. St. Paul, if they continue the pattern of siting at Target and Hy-Vee stores, would appear to be more likely at the Midway Target, owing to the proximity of the East St. Paul Target to the Oakdale charger.

If they are looking to fill 100-mile gaps, then a charger in either Faribault or near the interchange of I-35 and Highway 19 would make sense, as would one in Dunn County, WI. Others that I think should be considered would be one in Eveleth or Virginia, and one somewhere along Highway 61 in Lake County (I can see Two Harbors and Grand Marais as good choices.)

 

[Migizi]

St. Paul / Maplewood (service center/Galaria) no longer shows on the cars navigation map of supercharger locations

 

[tharasix]

It's odd that it ever did, as there's never been a Supercharger there. I don't recall seeing it show up as one in my 3.

 

[Migizi]

It's odd that it ever did, as there's never been a Supercharger there. I don't recall seeing it show up as one in my 3

wait what, those are just destination chargers?
looks like I’m having brain flatulence .

 

[tharasix]

New update on the Tesla site!

• Mankato got bumped back to 2022.
• St. Paul got bumped back to Q3 2021.
• Menominee got bumped forward to Q3 2021.
• New pin in Carlton, MN! Q2 2021. This will be awesome for driving up US 53, since you won't have to go into downtown Duluth if you need a charge, since this will give you a charge right near the Cloquet bypass. Really excited for that for trips up to the BWCA!