Supercharger - Augusta, ME - 281 Civic Center Dr

[Tdreamer]

Permits just went in for the addition of 16 stall v4 Tesla EV charging station with an address of 281 Civic Center Dr, Augusta, ME 04330. This shows as a 99 Restaurant and Comfort Inn. This is a NEVI award site so will most certainly be a V4 post build as was recently done at the Rockland Tesla NEVI site.

Given the Rockland site is done, there is a possibility this might be done by the same contractor - possibly soon although it's anyone's guess.

Post amended to include site plan info. The plan confirms a v4 traditional construction site (ie. it will not use pre-fab supercharger units).

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Hopefully for EV owners they can be super quick with this. It's now only 2 months until the total eclipse.

This is a much better location than the current Augusta, ME location at the top of the Marketplace Mall. Easier on and off, and this is better for 24 hour access. Not just because of the hotel lobby, but there is a crosswalk across Civic Center Drive to a 24 hour Irving gas station.

However, if you want to sit and have a meal, besides the 99 at the new site, you could still head to the V2 at Marketplace Mall and go to Agave (Mexican) or Red Robin.

Also, I should add, as a 16-stall V4 station this is going to a be a _huge_ improvement to Augusta charging. While there are 4 DCFC at the West Gardiner Service Plaza, there's only a 50kW and two 62.5kW CCS fast chargers in Augusta and this will further help Tesla and other owners traveling the I-95-ME-3 route to/from Downeast or EV owners who travel into Augusta during any major outage.

I'd have sworn it was originally announced at the Marketplace Mall, the same address as V2.

Indeed it was:

https://www.efficiencymaine.com/docs/RFP_EM_011-2023_Notification_of_Proposed_Award.pdf

2. Tesla, Inc., 197 Civic Center Drive, Augusta, Maine 04330

The Efficiency Maine Charging Initiatives page shows the new address. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine shows the address was updated by January 13, but I didn't spot the change.

I should be able to stop by at the site during construction.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Seems like the hotel owners wanted to add a Starbucks on site. There was an application January 2022. Last activity I can Google is March 2022, so not sure it went anywhere. Good news is that they had a parking review for it, so if it didn't happen that would have helped with giving up 16 parking spots.

The 99 had some violations found in July 2023, some of which had root cause in a sprinkler system leak, but are also signs of some lax operation in the kitchen. It was reopened within a day.

 

[Farmer]

This is where the Augusta Supercharger should always have been. I used this Irving across the street extensively when I drove ICE, but I have always passed the Augusta Supercharger up on the hill because it takes forever to get up there. That and there aren't really any good food/bathroom options up there. I don't need a sit-down experience like Red Robin and the other quick-food options are a somewhat harrowing walk up and down that windy, hilly access drive. Waterville is good except that sometimes Augusta is the sweeter spot in terms of arriving at the best battery percentage for charging.

I wonder if the one up by the mall will remain open? Speaking for myself, I doubt I'd ever use it again after this one opens.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

This is where the Augusta Supercharger should always have been. I used this Irving across the street extensively when I drove ICE, but I have always passed the Augusta Supercharger up on the hill because it takes forever to get up there. That and there aren't really any good food/bathroom options up there. I don't need a sit-down experience like Red Robin and the other quick-food options are a somewhat harrowing walk up and down that windy, hilly access drive. Waterville is good except that sometimes Augusta is the sweeter spot in terms of arriving at the best battery percentage for charging.

I wonder if the one up by the mall will remain open? Speaking for myself, I doubt I'd ever use it again after this one opens.

Well, this new one is V4, so >=V3, so will be open to all* EV owners with DCFC, while the V2 is Tesla only so if this one is busy and the V2 doesn't get shut down, the V2 could be a good backup for busy periods.

* There's a Chinese company with a CHAdeMO to CCS1 adapter. Very expensive at the moment (~$1k) but it may get cheaper.

 

[Farmer]

The mall location is so bad, I'd probably just wait in line at this new one anyway, lol.

 

[st50maint]

* There's a Chinese company with a CHAdeMO to CCS1 adapter. Very expensive at the moment (~$1k) but it may get cheaper.

Under what circumstances would such an adapter be useful?
Maybe at a CHAdeMO only station but are there any CHAdeMO only charging stations out there?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Under what circumstances would such an adapter be useful?
Maybe at a CHAdeMO only station but are there any CHAdeMO only charging stations out there?

I meant the opposite way round. It's CCS charger to CHAdeMO socket. Allows Leafs to use CCS, for example.

Bjorn Nyland recently showed a GB/T to CCS adapter for testing HiPhi cars, but it didn't work well for him.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Looking at the site plan, 2 stalls that are pull through handily utilizing an existing concrete curb. That could help people towing, and Detroit position cars.
Looks good.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

No signs of construction yet.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Nothing yesterday (2/17/2024)

 

[Farmer]

Still nothing as of last night.

 

[Tdreamer]

Still nothing as of last night.

Thanks for checking. Perhaps the crew went from Rockland to Scarborough, with this site to come next/later?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Passing by the last couple of times (twice in the last 2 weeks) I've seen some utility marking flags, but no sign of construction.

 

[Gwgan]

Was out testing FSD 12 on some rotaries and drove around the Comfort Inn. No signs of new life

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Was out testing FSD 12 on some rotaries

All 4 of them?

and drove around the Comfort Inn. No signs of new life

I also sped by yesterday and didn't see anything.

 

[eladts]

Looking at the site plan, 2 stalls that are pull through handily utilizing an existing concrete curb. That could help people towing, and Detroit position cars.
Looks good.

Aren't the cables of V4 posts long enough even for normal stalls? Also, this site is listed @supercharge.info as a V3 NACS site. Since it is a NEVI site it should be listed as a V4 MagicDock site.

 

[Tdreamer]

Aren't the cables of V4 posts long enough even for normal stalls? Also, this site is listed @supercharge.info as a V3 NACS site. Since it is a NEVI site it should be listed as a V4 MagicDock site.

Thanks for pointing out that this was listed as a v3 - fixed (now showing as v4).

 

[Tdreamer]

New pole in place by the flags today.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

No change from above. (Well, apart from the snow being gone.)