Service Center - Bedford NH

[DrDabbles]

It's interesting - after watching the meeting several planning board members were really vocal about wanting to include public charging access at this location (ex. a set of 12 superchargers). The charging in the plan as submitted is exclusively for Tesla service use and not intended to be publicly available. The planning board also didn't think the two superchargers being proposed could be excluded from showing up in-car even as they were not for public use. The developer was asked to get clarifying information on if this was possible (it is - there are many service centers with private superchargers that don't show up in-car), and I believe also to ask if they would be willing to allow customer use of these two chargers if that was all that was going to be installed on-site.

A planning board went so far as to say that not including 12+ chargers for public use was unfriendly and not demonstrating the manufacturers interest in supporting the community. Interesting - we'll see what comes of this going forward. I relayed this info to a contact in the supercharger team for awareness in case the team working to get this site built isn't communicating with the supercharger site development team internally.

It's also weird that one of the earlier meetings, some of the people commenting on public charging were talking about the fact that the Circle K station wanted to be open 24 hours a day and the town rejected it. Having a 24 hour charging location would effectively do the same thing that they didn't want at the gas station, and the police were hard against that station being 24 hours.

I totally agree there should be public chargers there though. And that gas station/convenience store should be 24 hours.

 

[Nikxice]

There's an article on the front page of the "Union Leader" today about this center. I didn't buy the paper and online it's behind a paywall.

Here's a yahoo news link to that article. When a board member makes the statement, "We need a charging infrastructure in this country, and I think the companies that are making and selling electric vehicles need to step up and provide charging stations to the public", it reflects a lack of knowledge concerning Tesla's EV charging footprint. Might add that some of these folks could be brought up to speed about home charging, also the leaps made in vehicle range over the last decade.
EV dealer - likely Tesla - eyes Bedford service center

 

[JATinNH]

The board member who was the most vocal about the lack of public charging actually seemed angry, claiming he’s tired of carmakers waiting for governments to supply public charging infrastructure instead of making the investment themselves. He may have a point …. about EVERY OTHER EV maker. But the fact that he didn’t seem to have any awareness of Tesla’s Supercharger investment made him seem woefully uninformed.

 

[Tdreamer]

This evening the Bedford, NH unanimously approved the applicant's plan! Target opening by the end of 2023.

The Planning Board inquired as to when the applicant would be revealing who they were and their plan to build this facility. The developer said they did not know, and it would be up to the applicant (Tesla) to announce.

Note: the one condition to the plan that was incorporated into what was approved was to enable the two superchargers included in the plan to be listed on the supercharger network and available for customer use. There may be time restrictions on their availability however - ie. perhaps during business hours for the service center and/or the showroom. So, two superchargers there - intended for charging vehicles for delivery, and for charging Tesla Mobile Service vehicles.

 

[essaunders]

decent enough location for a service/sales location. Not really an idea supercharger spot though (which is probably why they aren't making it one?) I also didn't see any transformers listed. Kinda wonder if the 'superchargers' are going to be 'urban'.

It's right at the end of the runway of MHT, fwiw...

 

[StalePhish]

decent enough location for a service/sales location. Not really an idea supercharger spot though (which is probably why they aren't making it one?) I also didn't see any transformers listed. Kinda wonder if the 'superchargers' are going to be 'urban'.

It's right at the end of the runway of MHT, fwiw...

It actually would be a pretty good locale for a Supercharger but it's not what the property was intended for. I can go either way on it. That's basically right at the offramp from Everett Turnpike exit 13 where it splits to the airport. Anybody getting on the highway either direction from the airport would only have to take a couple minute detour. More helpful for people going south, because Hooksett Superchargers are pretty close to the north if you're just passing through.

 

[essaunders]

It actually would be a pretty good locale for a Supercharger but it's not what the property was intended for. I can go either way on it. That's basically right at the offramp from Everett Turnpike exit 13 where it splits to the airport. Anybody getting on the highway either direction from the airport would only have to take a couple minute detour. More helpful for people going south, because Hooksett Superchargers are pretty close to the north if you're just passing through.

a perfect excuse to get off the turnpike (charge) and then get back on, avoiding the toll!


My comment wasn't so much about location as the lot size and nearby amenities expected of a supercharger location...

 

[StalePhish]

a perfect excuse to get off the turnpike (charge) and then get back on, avoiding the toll!


My comment wasn't so much about location as the lot size and nearby amenities expected of a supercharger location...

Both great points! If I'm headed north to the mall area, I get off at 13 and go down Brown and cross under 101 I stead of taking the toll. And good point about amenities, unless they were to have a seating area with coffee sort of like the Dedham Supercharger (but really most aren't like that)

 

[Tdreamer]

a perfect excuse to get off the turnpike (charge) and then get back on, avoiding the toll!


My comment wasn't so much about location as the lot size and nearby amenities expected of a supercharger location...

A good observation. The two superchargers here were definitely intended to meet the needs of the service and delivery work, and not for general customer use. The fact that they will be listed as available for use in-car (likely with specific hours of availability) is a concession Tesla made to the planning board.

The planning board had asked them to consider adding 8-12 superchargers to the project as a benefit to local electric vehicle owners, and also due to the benefit it would offer to travelers due to the proximity to the airport. They said in lieu of that, they might be willing to support the project if the two planned superchargers were opened up for general use which is the path Tesla took. Tesla probably declined to add superchargers since doing so would subtract a minimum of 8-12 parking spots expected to be needed for deliveries, generate higher traffic flow triggering further traffic studies. It would likely have also needed changes to meet site liability/security issues with it being a 7x24 use location.

I do think Tesla will eventually put a supercharger in the Bedford area, as it's half way between Hookset and the supercharger that is expected to be built just over the line in Tyngsborough, MA. Tesla will obviously continue to add superchargers based on fleet travel patterns and density over time, prioritizing installs based on those metrics, along with other info such as property owner requests to host a superchargers. An example of the later are the large number of superchargers currently popping up in Rhode Island after Neon Marketplace partnered with Tesla to include superchargers in many (most?) of it's new gas station/convenience stores being built in the region.

 

[Nikxice]

a perfect excuse to get off the turnpike (charge) and then get back on, avoiding the toll!

Speaking of avoiding NH tolls, this old photo came to mind. A Signature Red hitting the quinella in Hooksett. No tolling around with early adopters using FUSC. Classic!

 

[JSNH1919]

When I had free supercharging I was very tempted to do that.

 

[tga]

Speaking of avoiding NH tolls, this old photo came to mind. A Signature Red hitting the quinella in Hooksett. No tolling around with early adopters using FUSC. Classic!
View attachment 795340

I charge at Hooksett once or twice a week. I've seen that trick many times!

 

[StalePhish]

For an update on this, the board has approved it pending a laundry list of permits they need. It's a pretty good read but also shows how out of touch some of the local lawmakers are.
Marked as "2." starting on page 2 through 9: https://nh-bedford.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04182022-2328

 

[Nikxice]

Amusing how the all the Bedford planning board members, even reps for the proposed service center, dance around naming the company. For now, guess the only officially sectioned "T" word is "Tenant"...... As my wife was quick to read in the fine print, this is what's written on the border of each page of the published Site Plans....
Mar 22, 2022 - 10:38am
F:\TFM Projects\16433 Dwire\16433-50 Charles River - Tesla Concept\16433-50_C3D\Design\Production Drawings\16433-50 Site Plans.dwg
.... Oh well, it's probably indicative of the limited research this board has done regarding their obsession with EV charging.

 

[JSNH1919]

Drove by the site this morning on the way to work. Available real estate sign still up. No activity still an over grown site.

 

[ds10]

That's good news. I'd prefer Nashua instead of Bedford but it's still a big improvement because it's not on Route 128. The physical distance to Bedford NH is about the same as Dedham for me but the virtual distance is a lot closer because the traffic is some much less.

For those of us who live farther north and west, it's a major improvement, if still a 2 hour drive. From our location, it's 3 hours to Latham, NY and at least that to Dedham. I was hoping they'd build in White River Junction, VT or Lebanon, NH.

 

[ds10]

Though Bedford, NH is a long way for us (about 2 hours), having any service center in northern New England will be a plus. Maybe I'll be able to buy wipers for my Model Y there? (Tesla's online store doesn't have Model Y wipers).

 

[tga]

Though Bedford, NH is a long way for us (about 2 hours), having any service center in northern New England will be a plus. Maybe I'll be able to buy wipers for my Model Y there? (Tesla's online store doesn't have Model Y wipers).

Tesla wipers blades aren't anything special or unique, just overpriced. You should have plenty of options locally or mail order. On my S, I use a Bosch 28AOE in the driver's side, and an 18OE on the passenger side. Advance Auto Parts, Autozone, Amazon all carry them.

 

[nvx1977]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1533178078683357189

Wonder if this means expanding service centers as well.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1533178078683357189

Wonder if this means expanding service centers as well.

@Everybody
Replying to @Elonmusk

Finally!

Although of course this doesn't actually mean they'll do it, but at least they understand it's costing them sales.