Supercharger - Soledad, CA - H Dela Rosa Street (LIVE 26 Jun 2022, 7 V3 stalls)

[Mrbrock]

I reached out to Building Permit Division for Soledad and they were able to confirm that a permit has been issued (no exact date or document number since there is no online database) for a Tesla Supercharger at the Mission Soledad Shopping Center near Starbucks at 3070 H Dela Rosa Sr St. They said Tesla has not started construction but they plan to have it completed by the end of the year (Q2, 2021 according to the Tesla map). I would guess it would be located in the spaces the face 101 on the west side of the parking lot.

 

[Cheburashka]

Interesting. I thought a charger in Greenfield was also planned.

Nice to see them adding chargers along that stretch of the 101

 

[Mrbrock]

Interesting. I thought a charger in Greenfield was also planned.

Nice to see them adding chargers along that stretch of the 101

Greenfield has been open since December, 2020. There was much speculation that Greenfield was chosen over Soledad at the time but there is still a grey pin on the map so another station to look forward to. I am guessing it will be 8 V3 stalls but maybe we will get a surprise and it will be larger.

Supercharger - Greenfield, CA (LIVE 15 Dec 2020, 12 V3 stalls)

https://ci.greenfield.ca.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07072020-405 Tesla, the applicant of the proposed supercharging station at 560 Walnut Avenue (APN: 024-021-027), have submitted an application for the installation of three supercharging cabinets, twelve charging posts, a switchgear, two...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[smartypnz]

Yes, I thought Greenfield won out - but Soledad also makes sense given the amount of EV backups that have occurred during the holidays (from SLO on up). But Goleta, Buellton, Pismo, SLO, Atascadero, Paso Robles, Greenfield, Soledad, Salinas, Gilroy, and Morgan Hill will serve US 101 (LA to SF) for quite a while to come.
I know - some day soon I may eat those words.

 

[goldengate]

Great to see 101 continuing to get more stations after a long period where we had that huge gap between Salinas and Atascadero. When I first bought my car I rolled into Atascadero with 15 miles of range! Salinas is far enough from the freeway to notice... will be nice to have these "easy on easy off" options. I also have noticed on weekends that the stations in this corridor are 50-75% occupied (and farther south in Santa Barbara, 100%) so they will need to keep building capacity as they continue to sell more vehicles.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

This is excellent for redundancy.

Great to see 101 continuing to get more stations after a long period where we had that huge gap between Salinas and Atascadero. When I first bought my car I rolled into Atascadero with 15 miles of range! Salinas is far enough from the freeway to notice... will be nice to have these "easy on easy off" options. I also have noticed on weekends that the stations in this corridor are 50-75% occupied (and farther south in Santa Barbara, 100%) so they will need to keep building capacity as they continue to sell more vehicles.

The additional density also has an outsized impact on capacity:
- Newer locations are version 3 so allow faster charging than older locations, reducing charging time, and increasing capacity per stall
- Drivers don't have to stop before a large gap, so can therefore stop with a lower state of charge, helping to reduce charging time.
A lot of new version 3 installations have been increasing density and capacity, rather than coverage. Good for most Tesla owners, not so good for non-Tesla-owning Supercharger nerds,

 

[smartypnz]

Yes, and an occasional 10 minute stop on that route really breaks up the monotony. And some of those towns can use the business that comes with charging.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Soledad, CA

Along Primary Interstates: None
Along US Numbered Highways (<=5mi): US-101
Along Auxiliary Interstates: None
Along State Routes: None

US-101

From: Greenfield, CA - 7.9 miles
To: Salinas, CA - 29.1 miles
Diversion: 0.3 miles
From: Paso Robles, CA - 72.3 miles
To: Gilroy - Camino Arroyo, CA - 54.6 miles

To: Monterey, CA (US-101, CA-68, CA-1/CA-68) - 44.4 miles
To: Sand City, CA (US-101, CA-68, CA-1) - 44.5 miles

More density along the previously problematic stretch of US-101 between Atascadero and Salinas. There's already Paso Robles and Greenfield, CA, and Soledad, CA will be the 3rd version 3 Supercharger on that stretch. Still, a location in the small CDP of San Lucas, CA where US-101 meets CA-198 would probably be ideal to complete the stretch.

 

[Mrbrock]

If your goal is to get from I5 to 101 at San Lucas your destination will be Paso or further south or Greenfield or further north. If you are going south you’d stay on I5 and can charge at Harris (78 miles to paso) or Kettleman (54 miles) then use 41/46 to get to Paso. Going north, Harris to Greenfield is 70 miles. Almost the same as Paso to Greenfield. San Lucas being only 20 miles from Greenfield would make it a curious choice for an additional charger. There is not much there, only 1 restaurant so not much to do.

 

[TwistedGray]

Lolita's in Soledad for raspados (guava is my fave) if you're in the area. There aren't many places that do raspados, and they do them well. Unrelated, I know

 

[goldengate]

Almost always a speed trap just south of Soledad on 101....

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

If your goal is to get from I5 to 101 at San Lucas your destination will be Paso or further south or Greenfield or further north. If you are going south you’d stay on I5 and can charge at Harris (78 miles to paso) or Kettleman (54 miles) then use 41/46 to get to Paso. Going north, Harris to Greenfield is 70 miles. Almost the same as Paso to Greenfield. San Lucas being only 20 miles from Greenfield would make it a curious choice for an additional charger. There is not much there, only 1 restaurant so not much to do.

San Lucas, CA seems to be the only place of any significance between Paso Robles, CA and Greenfield, CA. That's a 64.7 mile gap. That's small as far as charging networks go, but not optimal, since it's a substantial chunk of battery capacity. In the long run you just want people to stop when the car is down around 10%.

_If_ Tesla splits the gap, putting it at a highway intersection makes sense. And in any case, there isn't much else between Paso Robles, CA and Greenfield, CA anyway.

 

[Mrbrock]

San Lucas, CA seems to be the only place of any significance between Paso Robles, CA and Greenfield, CA. That's a 64.7 mile gap. That's small as far as charging networks go, but not optimal, since it's a substantial chunk of battery capacity. In the long run you just want people to stop when the car is down around 10%.

_If_ Tesla splits the gap, putting it at a highway intersection makes sense. And in any case, there isn't much else between Paso Robles, CA and Greenfield, CA anyway.

But it is not splitting the gap, it's a 1/3 2/3 split which isn't ideal. 20 miles from Greenfield is 8% battery life for 3s and Ys. Which should be in the 5%-0% + buffer range based on the latest Edmunds tests. If oyu are planning to arrive at 10% there would be no issue getting into Greenfield with the 10% remaining. It would be a last gasp spot if you poorly planned your trip.

San Ardo would be a much better spot. It is not right on the freeway (~1 mile off) but the Firebaugh station is right on the freeway not near any town so they could do the same at San Ardo. 35 miles either way to a charger, 14%, much better place. I'd say any spot less the 10% battery apart that isn't solely for increased capacity is a waste. Paso is one of the larger stations and if there was concern they should have made Greenfield larger since it is brand new.

 

[smartypnz]

Hwy 198 from San Lucas to Coalinga is an amazing ride!!! I've only done it in my M3 which feels very nimble for that route. Not sure our MS would be as much fun.
There is one curve about 1/3 to halfway when going east that feels like the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. The M3 just fits for that curve.
Once you hit Coaling, it's a short ride to Harris Ranch north or Kettleman City south.
San Lucas would be a nice addition - aside that there is nothing there. An old gas station (abandoned) is at the intersection of US 101 and Hwy 198.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

More options is always better! Some people will stop here and some in Greenfield depending on if they are going north or south. I really don't think that 8 miles makes much of a difference for the "efficiency" of the charging infrastructure. - for a V3, it amounts to less than a minute of charging. Although I greatly prefer that these small sites would be lumped together as larger medium site sites, it's not a big deal. Sometimes you got to go with what is available.

 

[bmah]

More options is always better! Some people will stop here and some in Greenfield depending on if they are going north or south. I really don't think that 8 miles makes much of a difference for the "efficiency" of the charging infrastructure. - for a V3, it amounts to less than a minute of charging.

It depends. A minute on a V3 charger isn't going to get me very far on my S85D. Just saying not everybody drives those newfangled Model 3/Y things.

Bruce.

 

[goldengate]

At one point in another thread there was some speculation that Soledad would potentially be the big supercharger... the Kettleman equivalent on 101. I wonder if that could still happen or if the Paso Robles 28 station was the big rumored charger on 101.

 

[5Wheeler]

Hwy 198 from San Lucas to Coalinga is an amazing ride!!! I've only done it in my M3 which feels very nimble for that route. Not sure our MS would be as much fun.
There is one curve about 1/3 to halfway when going east that feels like the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. The M3 just fits for that curve.
Once you hit Coaling, it's a short ride to Harris Ranch north or Kettleman City south.
San Lucas would be a nice addition - aside that there is nothing there. An old gas station (abandoned) is at the intersection of US 101 and Hwy 198.

I drove the 198 from San Lucas then turn onto highway 26 to Hollister with my P85D. It's a great drive, the model S got enough power to come out of a turn quickly and the 4-wheel drive really grips around corners, and of course, on the few stretches of straights I can take off. The 26 especially is a motorcyclist route with some interesting stops. It would be good to have chargers at San Lucas. I had to stop at King City to use the Charge Point DC. There are 3 of those and I have a CHAdeMO adapter, for my close to 100Kmi P85D it's just about as fast as plugging into a SuperCharger as Tesal really nerfed the charging speed on old cars. The great thing is the charge was free (like a free beer) not sure it's because of the time (it was a Sunday and pandemic time) or if it's always free.

 

[TwistedGray]

I drove the 198 from San Lucas then turn onto highway 26 to Hollister with my P85D.

If I'm not mistaken, you're referring to Highway 25. That connects with Highway 198. We used to do that loop nearly every weekend on motorcycles. It's a gorgeous drive without too much traffic.

 

[5Wheeler]

If I'm not mistaken, you're referring to Highway 25. That connects with Highway 198. We used to do that loop nearly every weekend on motorcycles. It's a gorgeous drive without too much traffic.

Yes, I meant Highway 25. Somehow I am mixing it up with 26 which is up in the Gold Country.