Rhode Island needs more Superchargers

[bjrosen]

We went to Duxbury MA and then to Westerly RI yesterday and stopped at the only Supercharger in Rhode Island, East Greenwich. It's only an 8 stall V2 Supercharger and it was almost at capacity, seven of the eight stalls were always in use. No one had to wait during the 15 minutes we were there but it was a near thing, I'm sure that there were times during the day that there were cars waiting. Tesla needs to get off their duffs and install more sites in Rhode Island. In Eastern MA they are putting them at a furious pace but nothing is happening in RI.
BTW we had dinner at Ocean House in Westerly and they have Tesla destination chargers, just ask the valets to plug your car in. Normally we would rely in this destination charging but the rain significantly impacted my efficiency so I chose to stop for 15 minutes at East Greenwich.

 

[Yippydog]

So right! And it doesn’t look like there are any plans to add any for RI. Westerly is a prime destination and Watch Hill area always has plenty of Tesla’s. The money and the market is there, Tesla. Lots of expensive euro ICE luxury/sport, Lamborghini, Maserati, Jaguar, owners to covert!!! Taylor Swift probably would like to part a shiny new model S plaid in her 10 car garage off of Larkin St. Let’s go, Tesla!

Seriously, I have a 2nd home in Westerly and took delivery on my M3 in August last year. Fortunately I can charge at home here in Westerly and when running low, can get a supercharge In Lisbon CT halfway between Westerly and Worcester, MA. Other choice seems to be New London, CT. It sure would help though if Tesla could add a location closer to Westerly.

 

[srs5694]

There's a "coming soon" site in Middleton. IIRC, it's been "coming soon" for at least two years. (At least, there's been a "coming soon" site in that general area since around the time I bought my Model 3, a bit over two years ago.)

As a practical matter, if you live in Rhode Island or spend a lot of time here, and if you need DC fast charging in Rhode Island, you'd do well to look into buying Tesla's CHAdeMO adapter or Setec's CCS adapter. Several CHAdeMO/CCS stations have opened in Rhode Island in the past couple of years. (I count a total of 14 CHAdeMO/CCS sites in the state on PlugShare, although two or three of them have dismal ratings and may be permanently inoperative. On the plus side, some of them are free.) OTOH, if you're just passing through, or if you live in Rhode Island and don't need to regularly do fast charging, then the Superchargers in Connecticut and Massachusetts, in conjunction with the lone Rhode Island Supercharger, should be adequate. Personally, I've used that Rhode Island Supercharger just once, and that only to test that my account was set up correctly prior to taking a road trip shortly after buying my Tesla.

As a side note, on a recent road trip through Connecticut, a bit of New York, and Pennsylvania to West Virginia, I was struck by the fact that Tesla Superchargers are already present or are being installed at several service plazas in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. These are optimal locations for DC fast charging on road trips.

 

[bjrosen]

I'm not saying you can't get there from here but it ought to be easier. The only New England state that's well covered is Vermont, New Hampshire is also pretty good. Eastern MA has a million Superchargers but there is nothing on Route 2 in Western MA. Maine is fine if you are going to Portland but beyond that there is very little, no plans at all for Midcoast Maine and a Supercharger in Bar Harbor that's been in limbo for years with no end in sight. Rhode Island has one overtaxed Supercharger and one that's been planned for years near Newport that currently has a date of 2022 which is meaningless,, nothing planned for the other side of the state. I live in Eastern MA which is the largest population center in New England. I don't need Superchargers near me, I have a home EVSE which I suspect most Tesla owners do. I need them in places that I'm driving to and that means Maine, Vermont, The Berkshires, Northern NH and Rhode Island. Are the states that laggards interfering or does Tesla not have a clue about where Superchargers are needed in New England.

 

[tga]

How many superchargers does the smallest state in the US really need? You could do 2-3 round trips across RI before you needed to charge. If you're passing through, there are SC's just beyond the borders on 95.

NH and VT are actually lacking in the northern part of the state. NH is worse (at least there are plenty of L2's in VT). VT is great if you are going up 89 to Montreal, but Lyndon/St J is badly needed for skiing and trips up 91 to Quebec. I had to take the truck instead of the S last year when I went camping in northern Coos county, since there was no charging anywhere near my destination. Of course the dirt roads would have destroyed my 21" wheels and tires, and I was 45 minutes from cell service, so no calling for help.

 

[bjrosen]

How many superchargers does the smallest state in the US really need? You could do 2-3 round trips across RI before you needed to charge. If you're passing through, there are SC's just beyond the borders on 95.

NH and VT are actually lacking in the northern part of the state. NH is worse (at least there are plenty of L2's in VT). VT is great if you are going up 89 to Montreal, but Lyndon/St J is badly needed for skiing and trips up 91 to Quebec. I had to take the truck instead of the S last year when I went camping in northern Coos county, since there was no charging anywhere near my destination. Of course the dirt roads would have destroyed my 21" wheels and tires, and I was 45 minutes from cell service, so no calling for help.

The answer is that a small state like Rhode Island needs two more Superchargers, the one planned for the Newport area and one around Westerly. Newport is a major destination, there is no excuse for the delays on the Middleton Supercharger. As for the Westerly area, every corner of a state should have a Supercharger. That's my reasoning for why I think they should put a Supercharger in North Adams MA or nearby. That corner of the state has no coverage. They put two in the Tanglewood area and three on Cape Cod so why nothing on the Western part of Route 2. As for important destinations, what's the hold up with Bar Harbor. Acadia is the only major national park on the East coast.

 

[Yippydog]

Referring back to the original post, East Greenwich seems way oversubscribed and it is, to be honest, dirty(saw empty food containers when there on Tuesday afternoon of this week) and poorly placed. There is a rather dangerous blind corner around the back of the building that is heavily used. A pickup came barreling around the corner as I was backing in.
Now maybe RI doesn’t need SC in these areas. But considering that Middleton/Newport and Westerly areas are the the prime destinations in the state, it should be getting consideration. I would suggest that Narragansett would be a good spot in between , but it is a bit far from 95. And I am betting that Tesla looked at New London CT as the solution here due to the tristate proximity and heavy New York traffic.
I did a road trip to south haven Michigan last month and I got pretty anxious when arrive with 15% and the nearest “working” SC about 48 miles. It was ok of course and Michigan is the land of ICE ha ha.
I do want to say with two road trips under my belt , that I am thoroughly impressed with the Tesla network even though I have some desires to find one where I want one.

 

[ShibbyRomes]

Neon Marketplace location will be open soon. Corner of Airport and Post Rd in Warwick. Near I-95S exit 13 and Rt 37 off/on ramps.

 

[Tdreamer]

Neon Marketplace location will be open soon. Corner of Airport and Post Rd in Warwick. Near I-95S exit 13 and Rt 37 off/on ramps.

The Neon Marketplace at that location is now open - they had their grand opening yesterday, 12/29/2021. The supercharger is NOT yet open there however - it still needs a transformer & meter to be installed by the utility, and then the Tesla commissioning team needs to visit to test/enable. For what it's worth, the somewhat nearby Seekonk, MA Neon Marketplace supercharger build is in the same situation. That Neon Marketplace is not yet open, but should be in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Darmie]

How many superchargers does the smallest state in the US really need? You could do 2-3 round trips across RI before you needed to charge. If you're passing through, there are SC's just beyond the borders on 95.

The problem is visiting on the island. Unless you can scarf up some of the destination charging, you're kind of stuck going back over to Greenwich. If island hotels would offer destination that would be a big help.

The Neon Marketplace at that location is now open - they had their grand opening yesterday, 12/29/2021. The supercharger is NOT yet open there however - it still needs a transformer & meter to be installed by the utility, and then the Tesla commissioning team needs to visit to test/enable. For what it's worth, the somewhat nearby Seekonk, MA Neon Marketplace supercharger build is in the same situation. That Neon Marketplace is not yet open, but should be in the next couple of weeks.

This is right up the road from the Greenwich charger. They really need one on Middletown or Newport. Just a few stalls would work. Near a Dunkin would be nice.
I wonder if having this new charger near the Airport would be in support of Hertz renting Teslas.

 

[Tdreamer]

The problem is visiting on the island. Unless you can scarf up some of the destination charging, you're kind of stuck going back over to Greenwich. If island hotels would offer destination that would be a big help.

This is right up the road from the Greenwich charger. They really need one on Middletown or Newport. Just a few stalls would work. Near a Dunkin would be nice.
I wonder if having this new charger near the Airport would be in support of Hertz renting Teslas.

I think the Portsmouth and/or Middletown Neon Marketplace locations may eventually get a supercharger, but neither is permitted yet. Note that it's also possible the two original Neon Marketplace locations will not get superchargers - and they they will only include them in new location build-outs. Find A Store - Neon Marketplace

 

[mociaf9]

I think the Portsmouth and/or Middletown Neon Marketplace locations may eventually get a supercharger, but neither is permitted yet. Note that it's also possible the two original Neon Marketplace locations will not get superchargers - and they they will only include them in new location build-outs. Find A Store - Neon Marketplace

Another possibility is that they'll only have EV charging (whether Tesla or other providers) at the full store locations that are open 24/7 and not at the Express locations that aren't open all hours. Have to wait and see. But, from reading a few articles on them, I think it's a very good idea to keep an eye on new Neon locations as there's a high probability for superchargers at their new spots. And they are working/planning to open a lot of them over the next few years. The quote I saw was that they wanted to expand to 150 sites within the next 5 years.

 

[ShibbyRomes]

I live near the Neon Marketplace in Warwick. I have been visiting the East Greenwich Supercharger location for over 7 years. The Warwick location is better located near two regularly used highways (I'm aware EG is near I-95 and 4). Warwick location is just off I-95 and Rt 37 which connects a couples miles down to I-295. Also being near the airport helps those that may be picking up and want to charge nearby while they wait. I remember being the only Tesla charging in EG whenever I would viait. Now, even if all stalls work, they can be all taken pretty quickly. The addition of the Warwick location will make the EG SC more convenient. It's been great seeing Tesla grow in this area.

 

[JaeTheDev]

We went to Duxbury MA and then to Westerly RI yesterday and stopped at the only Supercharger in Rhode Island, East Greenwich. It's only an 8 stall V2 Supercharger and it was almost at capacity, seven of the eight stalls were always in use. No one had to wait during the 15 minutes we were there but it was a near thing, I'm sure that there were times during the day that there were cars waiting. Tesla needs to get off their duffs and install more sites in Rhode Island. In Eastern MA they are putting them at a furious pace but nothing is happening in RI.
BTW we had dinner at Ocean House in Westerly and they have Tesla destination chargers, just ask the valets to plug your car in. Normally we would rely in this destination charging but the rain significantly impacted my efficiency so I chose to stop for 15 minutes at East Greenwich.

Hope you had fun in my town! I’m in Westerly. I would have let you charge up if needed. Ha!

You’re so right though. Luckily, Neon Marketplace in Warwick is about to go online, and Mystic CT in a few months as well.

 

[bjrosen]

Hope you had fun in my town! I’m in Westerly. I would have let you charge up if needed. Ha!

You’re so right though. Luckily, Neon Marketplace in Warwick is about to go online, and Mystic CT in a few months as well.

Our destination in Westerly was Ocean House where we went for dinner. Ocean House has Tesla destination chargers and dinner at Ocean House is long enough to get enough charge to go home, but that's for the offer.