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Supercharger Siler City, NC
- Thread starter ASUComputerGuy
- Start date
BrownOuttaSpec
Active Member
Those look like the pre-fabricated units, no wonder the site appeared so quickly! Also maybe that is why they chose this site since a larger footprint might be needed instead of custom layouts per site. How the power cabinet is in the middle behind the pedestals instead of off to the side.
Tesla’s prefab Superchargers are solving a rarely-addressed problem
Inasmuch as Tesla has a vast network of Superchargers that are capable of charging its vehicles’ batteries quickly and conveniently, long-distance travel could still be challenging at times. For example, things become a bit aggravating when drivers end up having to use small Supercharger V2...
www.teslarati.com
I'd rather have more locations quicker rather then less locations rolling out slowly but in slightly better locations. Another game changer for Tesla!
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Interesting that the pre-fab stalls don't have any pull-in forward spots.
I wonder if this could be for the Charlotte/Western NC folks coming over to Jordan Lake via 64...
I wonder if this could be for the Charlotte/Western NC folks coming over to Jordan Lake via 64...
Apparently that Smithfield's location is getting a CCS/CHAdeMO station per plugshare: PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
Yeah, $82k from a government fund for a single 60KW charging station. Its sad how this money is being spent, IMO.
It looks like the money actually comes from the VW settlement: Chatham County receives grant to install vehicle fast charging station - Chatham Journal Newspaper
Though I wonder if it'd be more efficient/economical to coordinate with Tesla to build superchargers + CCS/CHAdeMO stations in the same locations to minimize costs.
Yeah, that is the case with a lot of these NC sites. The $$/per urban charger rate looks really inefficient to me, though. I feel like it isn't being efficiently allocated.
swengl
Member
I was hoping Rockingham area would get one, as well (not to say they won't in the future). It would be about halfway to the beach for me and that stretch of NC is pretty EV charging infrastructure barren.
DarkNightP3D
Member
No, to go to the zoo from Raleigh, most people go US-64, not I-40 to I-73. I’d venture a guess that greater than 95% of people traveling from Raleigh to Charlotte take I-40 to I-85. Some small number of people may go 64 to 421 to 85 (which is about 8 miles longer than just going 40/85), while some others may go US-64 to NC-49 (in Asheboro), which is the shortest route to Charlotte in terms of miles.
To your point that tons of people take the 64 route to Charlotte, anyone taking 64 to Charlotte would have to drive right through Asheboro as well. The NC Zoo is one of the largest tourist attractions in the state. Millions of people flock there every year from all over the country because it is one of the largest zoos in the US. Wouldn’t you agree that there’s more traffic along I-73/74/US-220/29 to various points north and south of Asheboro (all run concurrent through Asheboro) than along 421 from Siler City to Greensboro? If I had to guess, there’s probably 10X more traffic coming through/to Asheboro by way of all of those various routes. A brand new large junction at I-73 and 64 (also called Asheboro bypass) was just recently opened. It’s also only a mile or so from the zoo. I personally see a lot more usefulness out of a Asheboro location than Siler City. I-73/74 between Wilmington and Greensboro is one of those interstate corridors left to fill. Asheboro, Biscoe and Rockingham are all needed Supercharger locations for various reason.
Regarding the Charleston Supercharger location. The airport is a cluster getting into/out of. If you’re coming from the south to Charleston, most people still take 17 because it’s the most direct route in both miles and time. Going 95N to I-26 is a considerable amount out of the way. 526 is a bypass around Charleston. I suspect anyone that frequently drives to Charleston proper would appreciate a supercharger closer to the city than the airport. I’ve also been right near that Supercharger during the holidays and can tell you the road in front of the Supercharger, Tanger Outlets Blvd, gets backed up with traffic like crazy. Imagine Glenwood Ave in front of Crabtree during the Christmas rush where traffic piles up on the Beltline while people try to pour into the mall. That’s the same thing that happens there. Charleston is a large enough market that hopefully a second Supercharger will be built near Mt. Pleasant/old town Charleston.
Regarding the Cary Supercharger, once we have other chargers online along I-40 this toll road location will not be as important, but it’s sucked when traveling from Wilmington to Chapel Hill and needing a quick charge and having to end up paying $5 in toll bills or taking 10 extra minutes to avoid the tolls by exiting onto Page Rd (from 40) and going that way. Considering there are so many alternative exits both before and after 540 that aren’t tolled, I just never liked that location at all. I drive 540 to Durham almost every day and unless there is some serious backup on 40 during rush hour, I’ve never once gone south on 540 past I-40 to then go north on 147. I just exit on 40, hit 147 two exits down. Less miles, less time and no toll bills.
DarkNightP3D
Member
You can say that again. Look at this for the most egregious over spending I’ve seen yet… nearly $175K for two 62kW CCS chargers in New Bern. The State funded $130K and the city of New Bern coughed up another $35K themselves. How is this happening? I actually called the NCDEQ last week to see who the program administrator is but didn’t get any answers yet. I want to talk to them. Tesla can build 8-12 250kW Superchargers for $200K-$250,000. The State is spending crazy money hand over fist for single chargers that are already 10 years out of date. It’s honestly pointless for anything other than an emergency if you have a CCS-capable car.
Red Bear Lot (Coming Soon)
134 Craven St, New Bern, NC 28560, USA
PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You (Click this link and it will take you to Plugshare’s page about this NEW CCS charging station in New Bern)
You raise some important points and undoubtably any additional supercharger is a good thing.
I still think that Siler City is a comparable option to Asheboro and that Asheboro's importance to the supercharger network would diminish after Siler City is complete and especially if Rockingham is added subsequently.
US 64 corridor: could be served by either Siler City or Asheboro
US 421 corridor: served by Siler City but not Asheboro
I-73/I-74/US 220 corridor: served by Asheboro but not Siler City (also would be served by Rockingham)
Re: NC Zoo: since most zoo visitors are staying for a while, I think that the current setup with J1772 chargers in the zoo parking lot works well
Re: major travel corridors:
Greensboro-Wilmington: I would think that most people use I-40 (plenty of superchargers) and secondarily I-40/US 421 (would be served by Siler City), rather than US-74/I-73/I-74
Greensboro - Fayetteville: US 421/NC 87 - would be served by Siler City and not Asheboro
Greensboro - Myrtle Beach: I-73/I-74/SC 38/US 501: would be served by Asheboro but not Siler City. Would be served by Rockingham.
Charlotte-Raleigh: primary I-40 corridor well served; secondary US 64/NC 49 corridor served by either Siler City or Asheboro
Charlotte-Wilmington: US-74/I-74: would be served by Rockingham.
I guess my conclusion is that with the new Siler City supercharger, the addition of Rockingham makes all the more sense. I think that a Siler City + Rockingham combo would serve all the major travel corridors that I can think of through this region. If Rockingham is built, an additional Asheboro supercharger would primarily add density but probably not open up additional travel corridors.
I doubt you can get away politically with spending public money on something that isn't a "public service". I'm certain lots of people would rant and rave that Tesla drivers are getting what amounts to a free subsidy for charging stations... even though the reality is that the other, slower ones are infinitely less useful to the actual public...
sigh, politics.
sigh, politics.
RTPEV
Active Member
For sure that is crazy money, and really poorly spent these days where having a single point of failure charging station either means there will be frustrated EV drivers that get stuck, or smart EV drivers that will re-route around that corridor in favor of a more reliable one. At this point, money is better spent on providing incentives or finding sites for the large network providers to come in and install a high volume site. One-off single charging station installs make little sense, and it's not really the fault of "politics" as much as it is a problem of educating the policy-makers on how their money can be most effectively spent. Most of them have no experience, but see the buzz in the news and want to get in on the action.
Nekota
Member
Nekota
Member
Nekota
Member
Siler City just appeared on the Tesla mobile app. 8/8 stalls available.
TElderJr05
Member
The Siler City Supercharger is now open and being put to use. I got off shift this morning at Fort Bragg and it automatically routed me this way, as I live in Charlotte this will be so beneficial!
I stopped by this V3 supercharger on July 3 with my M3 at 42% SOC to charge. Stall 2D on the far end would only give me a constant 27 kW even after I gave it plenty of time to ramp up. When I switched to stall 1C it ramped up to 103 kW instead of what would normally be expected from a V3 supercharger charging up from 42% SOC (which would be around 155 kW). It basically acted like a V2 supercharger from that point on until it finished charging me up to 82%. I was the only car there. It looks to me like it needs some major adjustments and thorough testing.
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