Supercharger - Big Bear Lake, CA (LIVE 28 Oct 2023, 6 V3 stalls)

[4SUPER9]

Tesla just announced the “winners” of their poll to build out new supercharging stations. I received an email from Tesla a few days ago, notifying me that one of the places I voted for, Big Bear, was selected as a place to host a supercharger. Whether that happens or not, is certainly to be seen. I searched the city’s website and could not find mention of it. I also looked at San Bernadino’s website without success. Then again, I have not always been successful in looking at the right place.

Anyway, great place to have one, as Arrowhead is a bit off the road, especially in bad weather, and Big Bear is a much larger town.

 

[4SUPER9]

I meant to add their email to me:

 

[4SUPER9]

Update: I sent an email to the permitting dept in Big Bear. They responded to me just now. As of today, Tesla has not submitted an application anywhere in the area.

 

[abasile]

Glad to see this thread. It’s probably premature to look for permits, as Tesla’s real challenge will be to find a good site.

Given the large numbers of Tesla vehicles we see here in the mountains, mostly visitors, the Big Bear site should probably offer 20 stalls at minimum. Ideally, there will be amenities close by.

For 20 stalls, at least a few megawatts of power are needed. Big Bear Lake has its own electric utility provider, Bear Valley Electric Service, and I doubt they are used to onboarding such large customers. They probably serve the ski areas, but they’ve been there for a long time.

I fully expect that Tesla will come through on this, but it’s likely going to take some time!

 

[Doug Martoccia]

Maybe an opportunity for Tesla Energy to strike a win-win with Bear Valley Elec with a virtual power plant?

Their website currently states a max of 5 L2 chargers:

Bear Ready Commercial

Bear Valley Electric Service, Inc. has served the Big Bear Valley since 1929, providing electric power to approximately 23,000 customers in the community.

www.bvesinc.com

 

[freeewilly]

Nothing is happening in Big Bear after 7 months, what a PR stunk.

 

[4SUPER9]

They probably cannot find a site

 

[beachmiles]

They probably cannot find a site

Maybe the techno king just hates big bear and disregarded the first supercharger polls #1 globally requested supercharger site as human error? Let's remove driver wheels, stalks, radar, USS sensors, add more crappy games and fart modes instead of added things users want like this charger location and getting FSD to come to a smooth stop without waiting till the last second to slam on full Regen and friction brakes.

 

[Chuq]

Superchargers spotted under construction at corner of Big Bear Blvd & Village Dr.

Appears to be 4 units.

https://imgur.com/bbvAuF9

 

[4SUPER9]

4 units. That won't generate any crowds

 

[fholbert]

4 units. That won't generate any crowds

I see at least 6 chargers. The Red Bull truck may be blocking more.

We take my ICE airplane up to Big Bear for breakfast often. Hard to believe, usually the cheapest AvGas in SoCal

 

[4SUPER9]

I see at least 6 chargers. The Red Bull truck may be blocking more.

Excellent. Still better than zero.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

6 doesn't seem a bad haul for such a small lot.

 

[Chuq]

I see at least 6 chargers.

Good spot! I didn't notice the two in the background.

 

[Maaz]

Finally!

 

[aybaybay99]

Level 2 chargers at all the ski resort & hotel parking lots in the region would alleviate congestion in a big big way. 6 superchargers is nice, but may be more trouble than their worth because of the crazy congestion during winter.

 

[spentan]

Not sure exactly, but my guess would be that it was limited to 6 stalls due to power requirements for a larger install.

That being said, someone should install 20 superchargers, with Magic Dock, with Solar Canopies and Batteries at a minimum at all new sites, but hey what do I know.

 

[beachmiles]

This parking lot seems too small for superchargers and Im guessing many of the locals are anti EV and will be prone to ICE'ing these spots but this is much better than no superchargers.

 

[siromega]

I agree the parking lot is a bit small. But it is right down the road from Tropicali. That place has great food!

 

[TerranApart]

So grateful that Big Bear Lake is finally getting this.

And a little bit of informed speculation:
6 stalls seems kind of small compared with other locations, but in addition to the challenge of finding physical space for the station, finding available capacity on the electric grid could have also been a challenge.
Bear Valley Electric Services is a much smaller electric grid for the area and has more limits on its overall capacity. Additionally, BVES uses a lower distribution voltage (4kV) than SCE (12kV), meaning that each circuit has less headroom to host larger loads like a supercharger.

Grateful that Tesla and the city/utilities figured out a way to get it done.