Supercharger - West Lebanon NH

[xrayangiodoc]

We're all waiting on local utilities to do their job and install the utility transformer and hook it up to the grid. Buffalo was done last Friday but NYSEG won't have the transformer in place for about 2 weeks! This is not the fault of the Tesla install team! They did fantastic work. They put the order in for the transformer last February. When they called and tried to arrange for NYSEG to put in the transformer they were told that the person responsible was, "On vacation"!!! So we all sit and wait.

 

[hcsharp]

If anybody talks to the workers at the West Lebanon site, tell them to hurry up and get their butts back to Newburgh, NY and finish the Supercharger there. The Newburgh SC appears to be 95 percent done, but nothing at all is happening there this week. Very frustrating.

They said they were waiting for the utility in Newburgh, then some kind of final inspection and test.

Questions _politely_ to ask of Supercharger crews:
1. When will your work be done?
2. When do you think the Supercharger will be open?

Initially he said "roughly a month" and then said they weren't sure but that they didn't like being 5 hrs from home so they wanted to finish it up as quickly as possible. They said there are a lot of variables that could make it go faster or slower and it was too early to give an estimate. As for when it would be open, he said "A lot depends on the electric company."

3. Where are you going next?
4. Have you bid on any other Supercharger installs?

I didn't ask these two questions. I doubt they're doing Burlington VT because it's too far away. They volunteered the info about Newburgh without me asking.

 

[PeterK]

Great info from Henry and others. But doesn't anyone have pictures? I'm dying to see the current state of progress.

 

[dyoreo]

Any Updates??

Pictures?

 

[bhuwan]

Pics or it ain't happening

 

[tga]

I'll be in the area tomorrow afternoon. I'll take some pictures when I'm there.

Maybe I'll even post them. :wink:

 

[tga]

I stopped by yesterday evening (around 8:30) to take some pictures (sorry for the lousy night shots; my meeting ran later than I expected). They are building an island in the center of the parking area with a pad to hold the chargers/switchgear and charging bollards. There are 8 spaces total, 7 back-in and one pull forward. The transformer is being mounted outside of the parking area (they have already dug a trench through the lot for the conduit, and backfilled the trench).

They have installed most of the conduit, installed and braced the bollards, and have most (all?) of the concrete forms in place, but no concrete has been poured yet that I could see.

This is roughly the same view as the second photo in my post #20, upthread. In the lower right corner, you can just see the curbing beyond which the transformer will be installed. You can see the dirt-filled trench running to the island (orange traffic cone at the left end of the trench):

Switchgear, still in shrinkwrap :

Two views of the charger/switchgear pad, waiting for concrete:

Standing behind the transformer pad, looking at the charging stations. You can see the filled-in trench connecting the two pads:

Two more views of the stations:

Closeup of one bollard. You can see the empty concrete forms:

 

[zax123]

Wow, thanks for the pics!

Looks like even at 8:30 there were cars parked around, I hope the locations don't get ICEd too much!

 

[PeterK]

Thanks @tga - nice to see some significant progress! Great that this will be online for summer trips.

 

[hcsharp]

Wow, thanks for the pics!

Looks like even at 8:30 there were cars parked around, I hope the locations don't get ICEd too much!

Nobody parks on that side of the building unless nothing else is available. So it will get ICEd on Black Friday and every day just before Xmas. It will get a lot of exposure for Tesla because the cars and bollards will face the road and there's a lot of traffic along there.

 

[elreydetodo]

It may actually be safe on Black Friday. I was driving home from Florida to Massachusetts last Black Friday, and the chargers at the St. Augustine Premium Outlets were blocked off for Tesla-only parking. It took 30 minutes to get in there, but the spots were all free.

 

[PeterK]

I just drove past there on I-89 on my way from Cambridge to the Adirondacks. Didn't have time to stop and take a look but will try to on my way back tomorrow. Charging at Hooksett saved time over L2 charging in Montpelier, but at only 60 miles from home the SC is well into the taper from the start. So we spent more time at the state liquor store! Looking forward to West Leb, especially on the way north.

 

[hcsharp]

Stopped by there today. Looks about the same as your pics. I'm kind of curious why they have one stall a drive-through and the other 7 are back-in. Why not 8 back-in? I'm also curious if it will be possible to charge from the building side of the stalls. There are parking spaces there after all. I'm sure there will be some curbing but I wonder if you'll be able to reach from those spaces?

 

[PeterK]

Drive through would work for a Model X with trailer?

 

[RiverBrick]

... I'm kind of curious why they have one stall a drive-through and the other 7 are back-in. Why not 8 back-in?..

Nice to have a drive-through since it allows you to plug-in even if the space is ICEd.

 

[ED BENSON]

The Mobile SC station makes it easy to back in from either side. This looks like you could do the same.

 

[hcsharp]

The Mobile SC station makes it easy to back in from either side. This looks like you could do the same.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "Mobile SC station". The lone drive-in (forward) space has a curb next to it on the island so you can't use it on either side. The other 7 might be usable from the other side but not sure yet. They are set right in front of the parking spaces on the Rt 12A side of the row. The spaces on the building side will be farther away but not sure if they will be too far.

 

[PeterK]

I stopped by yesterday afternoon on my way back south and took some photos. As Henry said it hasn't progressed much since the previous photos but can see a little more in the sun.

View of the transformer pad and chargers beyond the tree "island". Conduits were trenched across the pavement.

Island with charger pad and charging stations beyond.

Charging stations with Price Chopper side wall in background.

Looking back toward the transformer pad and main parking area.

Of course, no work happening on a holiday weekend.

 

[chuckie01]

I see this note on the map: does this mean construction has been going on for 15 days, or is the construction expected to be over in 15 days?: Status: Construction - 15 days

 

[Cottonwood]

I see this note on the map: does this mean construction has been going on for 15 days, or is the construction expected to be over in 15 days?: Status: Construction - 15 days

If you look on the "Changes" tab of Supercharge.Info, you will see that West Lebanon started construction on May 12, so that is how long construction has been going on.

Very few people, perhaps even within Tesla, know when construction will be complete and the site opened...