Looks like Farmington, NM will get another supercharger. Good news
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Supercharger - Farmington, NM (2nd site)
- Thread starter JamesEarl15
- Start date
I use the existing Farmington NM charger a couple times per year as the charging stop between Gallup NM SC and Poncha Springs CO SC. While the old 4 stall V2 at the Marriott is slow on a good day and usually shared power, it seems to be decently on the route, has friendly bathrooms at the hotel, and within walking distance of a couple food options. Of the 3 Farmington options listed above in the tweet, is the Walmart one the best option? At least there are bathrooms to access. The other two seem pretty isolated.
As for the Bloomfield options, what would be the benefit of putting one there? Is the junction of 64 and 550 a more traveled path? It seems like it would add distance and time for the Gallup to Poncha Springs travelers.
As for the Bloomfield options, what would be the benefit of putting one there? Is the junction of 64 and 550 a more traveled path? It seems like it would add distance and time for the Gallup to Poncha Springs travelers.
doeandjon
Member
I would think that the 550/64 junction would better serve the bulk of travelers through the area. I'm thinking of it from the Texas perspective where Bloomfield is on the preferred route between SW Colorado attractions like Telluride, Durango, Mesa Verde, etc. and all major population centers in Texas. Farmington, on the other hand, is a 15 mile diversion. You're probably thinking from the Phoenix/LA/San Diego perspective where you won't hit 550 until Aztec. Since the existing charger better serves the western traffic, let's share and have the new charger on the route for the eastern traffic...as if you and I have any say in the matter.
That's accurate, I do use Farmington on my route from the Phoenix area to the mountains in Colorado. The western traffic pattern you describe is already filling up the existing Farmington chargers, so maybe they can upgrade the existing site or a Durango site on the south end of town near the 550/160 interchange would scratch the same itch.
doeandjon
Member
I charged there on both legs of a Houston-Purgatory trip in early January. On one charge, I was alone and for the other there was one other car. However, with only 4 stalls and many miles to the next charger, it's not hard to see how a long queue could form. A Farmington upgrade plus another charge site in the area are needed.
This is great news. I live in Taos and use the Farmington charger regularly when heading west on US 64. Just a little out of the way, but no complaints.
The Farmington charger is one of the early ones, one of the first 50 or so. Supercharge has a date of 1/1/2014, so almost 10 years old!
The Farmington charger is one of the early ones, one of the first 50 or so. Supercharge has a date of 1/1/2014, so almost 10 years old!
DanL3
Member
Great for me.
I come in from Shiprock and go south to Albuquerque. The drive up to the charger at the Marriott is out of the way.
I come in from Shiprock and go south to Albuquerque. The drive up to the charger at the Marriott is out of the way.
DeepBlueMN
2019 AWD Model 3
I see there was a long line at the Farmington supercharger (eclipse traffic); we need some activity on this second potential site!
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
While it would be nice to finally have more charging in Farmington, the eclipse was a one time event! Nevertheless, nine cars waiting two hours after the eclipse at the remote, tiny, four stall Farmington Supercharger Station was impressive:
^ The Supercharger stalls are at the far left of the picture.
As old timers here will remember, Farmington was part of the first transcontinental Supercharger route in early 2014. Here in the Four Corners area it went Grand Junction (6, still), Moab (4), Blanding (4), Farmington (4), Gallup (4), Holbrook (4). Since then, Moab has a new eight stall V3 with Magic Docks, and Gallup and Holbrook have been expanded (both desperately needed to keep up with I-40 traffic).
Also, plenty of people who currently charge in Farmington would be happy to charge in Cortez, Durango, and/or Pagosa Springs. So assuming they build one or more of those, that will take some pressure off the existing Farmington site…
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
Yes. I couldn't do it, but longer range cars could do Albuquerque to Durango. If they hit headwinds, they could divert to Farmington.
Until they finish the planned Supercharger Station in Bernalillo, I can't do Albuquerque to Farmington anymore. I'll be diverting to Milan NM on I-40, which is way more convenient than Gallup was. [I'm down to 166 RM at 100%, although it has been stable the last several years.] US 550 from Farmington, over Coal Bank, Molas, and Red Mountain Passes to my home in Ouray County is an easy, and scenic, 135 miles.
DeepBlueMN
2019 AWD Model 3
We need 8 stalls at both by the end of 2024 due to all the other EVs that will charging at superchargers. (And blocking 2 spots at a time).
Agree with the conclusion that more capacity is needed, but I think the impact of non-Tesla EVs at Superchargers is a bit overblown. Tesla's own existing vehicles and growth is a bigger factor.
The good news is Tesla (rarely) installs smaller than 8 stall chargers so southern CO is likely to get your wish before too long, regardless.
To do a bit of excessively detailed thinking about this...
In the US, Tesla has sold about 2.1 million cars in total. As of 2023 Tesla is selling about 500k per year in the US. They hold around 50% market share, so everyone else is selling about 250k / year.
So, annually Tesla is growing the demand for Superchargers by about 24% and if every other EV sold in the US could use Superchargers that would only bump demand by about 12%. This is a big "if" though - not every other brand is going to NACS and the timelines for that transition vary.
Furthermore, not every existing Supercharger is opening up to non-Tesla NACS cars (V2s aren't and, presumably, Tesla doesn't have to open up stations with no excess capacity). Similarly, magic dock CCS adapters won't be deployed everywhere.
And there's a few more minor complicating factors:
- (As you called out) Some cars block 2 spots in some circumstances.
- Non-Tesla charging networks are also growing (pulls load off of Superchargers)
- EVs are getting bigger and need longer charge times (Rivians, F150 Lightning, upcoming CT), increasing load per car
- As the charging networks get denser you actually get higher throughput per stall. Sounds counterintuitive, but with more charging locations drivers can more easily arrive at the perfect state of charge for fast charging and not need slow deep charges.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
As discussed in the Kayenta thread, a Supercharger Station there seems unlikely for now.
If you are willing to overnight in Monument Valley, you can charge at Goulding's campground, although it is a pricey option and impractical for regular travel. Worth doing for a tourist passing through on occasion, being famously scenic:
DeepBlueMN
2019 AWD Model 3
Good points.
But, I still think we are going to have a lot of supercharging challenges by the end of 2024.
I think most superchargers being built (especially by the end of 2023) are going to be either V4 or Magic Docks. And, MOST (not some) non-Tesla EVs are going to take up 2 charging spots. AND, we are seeing more and more lines at non-superchargers, thanks to more Rivians and other big battery EVs, plus crappy CCS providers with broken chargers and/or de-rating, which means even more pressure coming soon on V3+ superchargers.
I really expect to get to a supercharger late next year, and I’ll find 2 Teslas, 1 Mach-E, 1 Rivian, and 1 Bolt. And it will be FULL. And the Ford+Rivian+Chevy will each be full charging for nearly an hour.
None of what you say above is factually wrong, but it feels like you're interpreting all of the unknowns in favor of assuming the worst!
Sometimes it seems like everyone forgets this isn't Tesla's first rodeo; they've literally opened a whole continent of chargers to all EVs (Europe) and it hasn't been a catastrophe.
You say...
...and then say...
One of the big features of the V4 pedestals is a long cable that is compatible with all charge port positions.
Furthermore, I'm not entirely convinced that "most" non-Tesla's will take 2 spots. Not all non-Tesla's have the port in the wrong place (notably Polestar/Volvo). The brands adopting NACS may also move the charge port (Tesla could make that a condition for getting broader access to SC network).
Even with cars with the port in the wrong spots, consider if half the cars at a station are "wrong". If the "wrong" and "right" cars are all grouped together then fewer stalls get blocked. Of course people probably won't do the right thing, but in the best case scenario the average number of stalls used is far less than 2 per car.
It certainly could happen (even today at an 8 stall magic dock location). But so far Tesla has obviously been careful to only put Magic Docks at locations with a lot of excess capacity (in CO see Kremmling, Montrose, Lamar, and Northglenn). When other brands adopt NACS do you think they are going to open up stations that are already under heavy load to non-Tesla NACS cars with the port in the wrong place? They could! But they could also just only open up less busy stations to those cars. That's exactly what they do in Europe where some stations remain Tesla only.
Sometimes it seems like everyone forgets this isn't Tesla's first rodeo; they've literally opened a whole continent of chargers to all EVs (Europe) and it hasn't been a catastrophe.
You say...
...and then say...
One of the big features of the V4 pedestals is a long cable that is compatible with all charge port positions.
Furthermore, I'm not entirely convinced that "most" non-Tesla's will take 2 spots. Not all non-Tesla's have the port in the wrong place (notably Polestar/Volvo). The brands adopting NACS may also move the charge port (Tesla could make that a condition for getting broader access to SC network).
Even with cars with the port in the wrong spots, consider if half the cars at a station are "wrong". If the "wrong" and "right" cars are all grouped together then fewer stalls get blocked. Of course people probably won't do the right thing, but in the best case scenario the average number of stalls used is far less than 2 per car.
It certainly could happen (even today at an 8 stall magic dock location). But so far Tesla has obviously been careful to only put Magic Docks at locations with a lot of excess capacity (in CO see Kremmling, Montrose, Lamar, and Northglenn). When other brands adopt NACS do you think they are going to open up stations that are already under heavy load to non-Tesla NACS cars with the port in the wrong place? They could! But they could also just only open up less busy stations to those cars. That's exactly what they do in Europe where some stations remain Tesla only.
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