Supercharger - Pasadena, CA (LIVE 26 Nov 2019, 24 urban stalls)

[RubberToe]

Say hello to my little friend: The largest charging station in the Western United States...

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It's at the top level of the Marengo parking garage, which is directly across the street from the Paseo mall. Very close to the edge of Old Town.

I'm assuming the 24 Tesla chargers are going to be 72kW urban chargers. And Tesla is putting in 20 more for the city which will be run by PWP. They don't state what kind of chargers these are, but I'm assuming L2.

Tomorrow (2-26) is the Municipal Services Committee meeting at 4pm. I'll be the guy in the front row with a Tesla hat on, making sure our elected officials "do the right thing"!

Wake up alarm for my buddy @BlueShift .

RT

 

[mociaf9]

I'll be interested to see what the exact mix of EVCS are. Hopefully the meeting will have a full explanation/breakdown so we'll have something more definitive than an article from someone who may not have the solidest grasp on the differences in the various technologies/standards. Regardless, I don't think it will qualify as Tesla's largest installation in CA. The new Santana Row location in San Jose has 36 urban supercharger stalls (10 of which are in the valet area), and maybe another 25 L2 chargers (again some in the valet area). Plus they also preinstalled some infrastructure for future expansion.

But Yay! for what might be the first supercharger between the 5 and the 15 in the LA area. Though hopefully there will be others finished before this one makes it to life.

 

[RubberToe]

I stand corrected. The 20 non-Tesla chargers will also be DCFCs. Here is the agenda from the committee meeting where this is described. There will indeed be 44 fast chargers on the roof of that garage at some point. Tesla is installing the electrical infrastructure for the non-Tesla DCFCs too. I'm imagining the city will procure and install the actual non-Tesla DCFCs.

 

[K3Man]

Thanks for that, @RubberToe !

Very interesting.

So is this... "While EV chargers are usually free, parking fees would still apply to anyone entering the Marengo parking facility."

 

[miimura]

Thanks for that, @RubberToe !

Very interesting.

So is this... "While EV chargers are usually free, parking fees would still apply to anyone entering the Marengo parking facility."

Parking fee is $1.50 for 30 minutes, max $9.00/day. Validation available from nearby businesses for 90 minutes free.

Parkopedia: Marengo Parking Structure

 

[RubberToe]

Thanks for that, @RubberToe !

Very interesting.

So is this... "While EV chargers are usually free, parking fees would still apply to anyone entering the Marengo parking facility."

The city supplied DCFC at Del Mar Station is indeed free via the Greenlots app. The L2's the city has installed at various municipal lots are also free. You just have to pay for whatever the parking fee is. Some lots don't enforce parking until like 9am, so there are L2's sitting around that are energized, but the less said about that the better

If there are 20 free DCFCs on the roof of that structure, and 24 Tesla Urban chargers, that is going to be one popular place. I might have to head there after work and open up a "bacon wrapped hot dog" cart on the roof as a side gig to help fund my retirement plan...

RT

 

[David99]

Say hello to my little friend: The largest charging station in the Western United States...

Not sure that's true.

PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You

Over 70 plugs here:
Free Destination Charging: 50x L2 80A Stations @ Caltech, Pasadena, CA

 

[Alex_M]

I don't quite get why we do not have a single supercharger in the city of LA. Surrounding cities seem to step up.

 

[miimura]

Not sure that's true.

PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You

Over 70 plugs here:
Free Destination Charging: 50x L2 80A Stations @ Caltech, Pasadena, CA

Your examples of high station counts are all AC stations. Caltech only has one DC fast charger. This Pasadena site will have 24 Tesla DC Urban Superchargers and 20 DC Fast Chargers that can charge non-Tesla vehicles. 44 total DC fast charging stations does sound like a record to me, just beating the Kettleman City and Baker Superchargers. I think all the other Tesla sites with more than 40 stalls are outside the USA.

 

[MarcoRP]

I stand corrected. The 20 non-Tesla chargers will also be DCFCs. Here is the agenda from the committee meeting where this is described. There will indeed be 44 fast chargers on the roof of that garage at some point. Tesla is installing the electrical infrastructure for the non-Tesla DCFCs too. I'm imagining the city will procure and install the actual non-Tesla DCFCs.

Holy Moly! 20 DCFCs is something I’ve rarely ever seen, some cases being in China, where they have this. Definitely not in the US though. Good news for all EVs!

 

[ecarfan]

Do we know what type of chargers the DCFCs are going to be? CCS?

 

[miimura]

Do we know what type of chargers the DCFCs are going to be? CCS?

Since they are being installed by the City of Pasadena, they should be dual standard CHAdeMO + CCS. This is also interesting because the City of Pasadena also operates the city's electrical utility.

 

[RubberToe]

I have lived in Pasadena since 1987, and I have never parked in this city garage. All I can say at this point is that this location is beyond sheer genius. You can enter this garage off of either Arroyo Pkwy. or Marengo St. If you enter off Marengo, you are two quick turns from being up on the roof of the garage. It looks like this area might be where the 24 Tesla chargers will go. There are 18 spots along this wall, and 6 more at the far right of the picture. As you can see, their proximity to the adjoining mall is such that these spaces are rarely used. Also, the mall itself has underground parking but is extremely heavily used and beyond busy at all hours. This garage is a much better location than under the actual mall.

Having said that the proximity to the mall access isn't the best, thats all relative. If you walk across to the opposite end of the structure, there is an elevated walkway that takes you directly into the mall itself.

These elevators take you down to other garage levels, or to the street. At the street, you are at the East end of Old Pasadena. Check the map for the top 100 restaurants within 3 blocks of there. If you go into the mall, there is a gym first thing on the right, and I saw lots of people working out after work and parking on the roof. There is a wine bar (Bodega) immediately on the left, next to El Cholo. A couple Salons too. The entire rest of the mall is just beyond that.

If you go down to the first floor, you can even find 5 of the old Eaton chargers that provide free L2 juice for two hours:

These I would imagine are pretty popular at all times. I'll have to check the garage hours, though someone up thread posted a link to parktopia that might have that. It looks like the exit system is totally automated so that is good.

So the short version of this is that there is a whole lot to do within easy walking distance. 72kW charging during that period will fill up your Tesla. And there is a pretty good chance that anyone driving any distance to get to Pasadena is either going to Old Town or the mall.

I'll see what the committee does tomorrow. There is not a snowballs chance in hell that this isn't fast tracked right to the March 11th City Council meeting.

RT

 

[RubberToe]

The city DCFCs would have both Chademo and CCS connectors.

Mayor states he is delighted. Wonders about why roof was chosen.

Presenter states that if premium spaces were used, more chance of conflict with non-Ev drivers.

Tesla senior developer now speaking. Three criteria, one is providing a positive experience. Less congestion is desirable. States that Tesla drivers can easily find chargers with car navigation system.

Will be signage for charging station. Presenter mentions most phone apps provide directions to chargers.

Mayor says signage would be good to inform non-EV drivers of availability. Signage is in the agreement. On the outside of the structure.

Have pictures that I will post later of the site layout. Not what I imagined above.

Tesla rep says 80% of customers leave vehicle when charging. Good for local business.

PWP rep mentions that March meeting will provide more information on other possible locations. Not Tesla facilities.

Mayor asks about non-Tesla DCFC chargers. City currently has not identified a DCFC provider. PWP responding to council question about how picking a provider will proceed. ChargePoint is proprietary. Other providers use common standards.

Tesla states that after contract is signed, about 3 months till site is up and running. End of summer.

Council discussing how to procure DCFCs to also be installed that quickly.

Council asks about solar panel over installation. Many issues with doing that, mostly structural. Not part of this plan.

Council votes to proceed without objection.

RT

 

[gene]

RT,

Thanks for the detailed reporting. Pasadena mayor sounds like a good guy.

Gene

 

[MikeC]

Love it. I park on that roof all the time.

 

[XHabjab]

Your examples of high station counts are all AC stations. Caltech only has one DC fast charger. This Pasadena site will have 24 Tesla DC Urban Superchargers and 20 DC Fast Chargers that can charge non-Tesla vehicles. 44 total DC fast charging stations does sound like a record to me, just beating the Kettleman City and Baker Superchargers. I think all the other Tesla sites with more than 40 stalls are outside the USA.

... and then there are places like North Dakota that have ... none ... zero ... in the entire state. I'm all happy for you guys in the land of the bear, but meanwhile I can't get through North Dakota without spending a couple of overnights at either destination chargers or hell hole RV parks.

 

[RubberToe]

Text bubbles nearly unreadable from the photo, but it looks like the following:

Tesla has 24 75kW back in stalls as seen in the circled red area. The City's 20 are at the bottom of the picture, and they are 50kW.

The green area on the lower right is actually at ground level versus the roof area where the EV chargers are going. Here is a ground level shot of that area first:

Upper text shows City's designated area, this may have a picnic table per the meeting, no restroom facilities. Next bubble down is maybe 8' by 22' vault for transformer. Next one is Tesla's ****** on ground floor, and lastly the stairwell in the corner.

In the post-meeting discussion in the hallway, the Tesla reps stated that they had already done considerable work with the City on both the building and fire permitting as part of the site location process. The expectation is that once the city council approves the project during the March 11th meeting, that forward movement will be quick.

RT

 

[mociaf9]

Next one is Tesla's ****** on ground floor

I believe that one says "Tesla's Switchgear ..." And above, for the stalls, I'm pretty sure it says Tesla's are 72 kW instead of 75 kW (plus this fits with how they describe the urban style posts).

Thank you for your excellent coverage!

 

[RubberToe]

And above, for the stalls, I'm pretty sure it says Tesla's are 72 kW instead of 75 kW (plus this fits with how they describe the urban style posts).

Too much coffee, rookie mistake on my part...

Thank you for your excellent coverage!

You ain't seen nothin yet. When construction starts this is going to be my new happy hour location (Bodega wine bar)...

RT