Supercharger - Yass, NSW

[hyperdallas]

As a person whom lived in Yass for over 15 years, the service centre is absolute chaos during school holidays and other peak periods. To the point that it becomes unusable. Cars and people absolutely everywhere.

Where it is being proposed is in town, and out of the way. Fingers crossed they can install superchargers. Short walk to main street and away from the congestion.

Site Location:

Tesla

Image Tesla hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

 

[PC__LoadLetter]

Oh, I just assumed it was the car park just north of there, opposite the soldiers club, where the NRMA charger is.

Yeah, Yass Junction Service Centre can be mad. But that’s a good thing. You’ve got multiple fast food options, plus tolerable slow food at the truck stop.

Unrelated story: Not long ago I bought some Tesla wheels off a guy in Melbourne. He’d bought sick rims and was tired of paying for a storage unit. I had damaged one wheel somehow, plus I wanted a spare. I had him put them on a Firefly coach as freight. But Firefly doesn’t go through Canberra. I drove up there a few hours early, as it’s an overnight coach and I was afraid I’d fall asleep and miss the rendezvous. Aside from lots of truck movements near where the coaches stop, I had a quite tolerable wait for a few hours. Wouldn’t have hurt if I could have charged while there, though I had already done that in town.

That said, I’m generally in favour of two options. Same as Goulburn. One at a servo for toilets and a snack. One in town for a cafe visit and a stroll. One day the market will support both. But for now I’d just like something convenient to the highway, like Gundagai, and like the proposed Evie chargers at Marulan. We’ve got lots of off-highway chargers along the Hume already. It’s time to rebalance that mix to add another convenient highway site, especially since Marulan has been stalled for years.

 

[moa999]

But for now I’d just like something convenient to the highway, like Gundagai, and like the proposed Evie chargers at Marulan.

Think the problem is current utilisation. Other than a couple of days a year it's still low.

There is a reason that most chargers are very close to substations and typically in town or in shopping centres - cost - they are targeting areas with existing capacity.

When you can guarantee usage of chargers like a petrol station, then spending what I suspect will be millions installing new 1-2MW feeders from the nearest distribution centre may make sense.

For now it's a downside of being an early adopter.

 

[PC__LoadLetter]

Supplement a mid tier feeder with solar and batteries and it’ll be fine. And load balance the available current a bit more if it’s a genuinely tenuous site. In my 158,338km of Tesla driving experience, I rarely cross paths with folks at DC chargers at night anyway.

 

[moa999]

rarely cross paths with folks at DC chargers at night anyway.

But that is part of the problem.
The utilisation isn't there.

As for Marulan for example I suspect the nearest mid-tier substation is probably in Goulburn. A new 30km cable isn't going to be cheap.

 

[hyperdallas]

Before I left, there was talk of a second service centre across the road from the existing on the highway.... Went through there a few weeks ago and the site was being levelled for something... not sure what.

 

[Chuq]

Before I left, there was talk of a second service centre across the road from the existing on the highway.... Went through there a few weeks ago and the site was being levelled for something... not sure what.

That would've been this one presumably. Dated 2020, so not sure what happened (though Covid might have delayed things).

New Service Centre Approved for Yass | Yass Valley Times

www.yassvalleytimes.com.au

 

[Zoltrix77]

That would've been this one presumably. Dated 2020, so not sure what happened (though Covid might have delayed things).

New Service Centre Approved for Yass | Yass Valley Times

www.yassvalleytimes.com.au

No doubt EV charging has been incorporated into the design.....

 

[Quickst]

60c

When will Woolies shopadockets get involved?

 

[Chuq]

I drove through Yass today, including through this car park and I can confirm…

…

…. that absolutely nothing has happened.

 

[hyperdallas]

I drove through Yass today, including through this car park and I can confirm…

…

…. that absolutely nothing has happened.

not at all surprising

 

[moa999]

Funded under the NSW Drive scheme, and listed as a 12 stall site.

 

[MichaelC RWD M]

Hi All, has anyone got an update on if they have started the Yass install yet or when it might be commissioned and online? Thanks.

 

[LWI]

Hi - I note that Plugshare is showing 2 Checkins (an S and an Atto, 19 Dec and 11 Feb) on the Tesla Yass Supercharger site. Are these mistaken checkins for NRMA Yass 50kW charger, or is the Tesla Yass Supercharger now operational? Can anyone confirm the current status?

 

[Nobody Famous]

Are these mistaken checkins

these Are mistaken checkins

 

[Chuq]

Agree with what @Nobody Famous said. If these were yesterday or today I may think otherwise but months ago... no chance that works would have not been spotted in that time.

 

[hyperdallas]

They are the NRMA charger opposite the RSL Club and the destination charger on the opposite wall behind the same club. They def don’t have SC’s in town.

 

[Chuq]

From council sustainability committee meeting 30 May 2023:

https://yass.infocouncil.biz/Open/2023/05/SACCC_30052023_MIN_798.PDF

Electric Vehicles

Proposed Tesla recharging station, park and ride site, requires power upgrade, hope to have
operational next financial year.

 

[moa999]

June year end, so I assume that means by June 2024.

 

[RichardV]

From council sustainability committee meeting 30 May 2023:

Electric Vehicles


Proposed Tesla recharging station, park and ride site, requires power upgrade, hope to have operational next financial year.

Power upgrade here is not very specific. It could just mean needing a new high voltage kiosk substation installed, which almost all new supercharger sites of any real capacity will require. But it could also mean some larger infrastructure upgrades are required.

If we look at essential energy's network maps of the proposed site:

There is a modest 500kVA pole transformer feeding an already large number of premises. This transformer is feed from the Yass 22kV line. For a v3 supercharge 3 cabinet install, most other sites have utilized 4 cabinets, would require at least a 1MVA transformer. Adding a new kiosk substation is typical of this size new supercharger install.

If we this follow this 22kV line back to the Yass Zone Substation,

And note that this Zone substation is feed by a 66kV line from the major regional Transgrid substation via here,

The Yass Transgrid and Yass Zone substations are shown via line diagrams here from Essential Energies asset report,

If we then look at the maximum load data from the same asset report,

The 22kV line from Yass Zone substation to Yass Tesla Supercharger site is projected to be at 15.2/16.8 MVA which would mean you might just squeeze another 1-1.5 MVA transformer into the area.
But if we look at the Regional Yass Transgrid link the the Yass Zone substation we see that it is oversubscribed in summer, 15.5/12 MVA and with a little winter capacity, 16.8/18 MVA.

I don't know if this is then indicating that the upgrade(s) required might including upgrading the main Yass Zone Substation 66kV feeder from the Transgrid Substation.

Measuring this out,

Would seem to indicate around a 3.5km 66kV line upgrade.


So this may be what is holding up any movement on the Yass supercharger.


References:
Network maps ArcGIS Web Application
Distribution Assets annual report https://www.essentialenergy.com.au/...es/Our-Network/DAPR-Essential-Energy-2021.pdf