Superchargers in Australia

[WhiteStar]

Chuq I like the way you're thinking very optimistically. Nothing by way of any communication by Tesla but it seems as though they're pushing hard behind the scenes to complete at least Melbourne to Brisbane ahead of schedule. The Melbourne to Sydney and Sydney to Brisbane routes are the equivalent of Los Angeles to San Francisco in terms of importance. Or maybe think of Melbourne to Brisbane being the equivalent of LA to Seattle. So I think there is reason for optimism on those 2 main routes but the less used inland routes will no doubt take time, maybe a long time unlike the US.

 

[moemoke]

Does anyone know what the plans are for Tesla the battery swap stations?
I wonder if they would be cheaper to set up in less populated regions (ie across the Nullarbor, Adelaide to Darwin etc)
than super chargers and they could be solar powered so could be independent of the grid.

 

[Chuq]

Does anyone know what the plans are for Tesla the battery swap stations?
I wonder if they would be cheaper to set up in less populated regions (ie across the Nullarbor, Adelaide to Darwin etc)
than super chargers and they could be solar powered so could be independent of the grid.

That's a good point. They are trialling this tech now at Harris Ranch in Callifornia (Tesla Motors | Premium Electric Vehicles) although they call it a trial, the technology has existed for a while - Better Place used to do it - in 2010 they had a few stations set up in Tokyo and had some electric taxis running 24/7. The trial was to last 90 days, but after they reach that milestone without any problems they kept it going, eventually running for several more months!

The Aussie ones would have to be off grid as you said but no shortage of solar power in most of those sparely populated areas, and unlike supercharging the demand can be spread out over the time it takes to charge the stored batteries, rather than in a 20 minute burst!

 

[miimura]

Does anyone know what the plans are for Tesla the battery swap stations?
I wonder if they would be cheaper to set up in less populated regions (ie across the Nullarbor, Adelaide to Darwin etc)
than super chargers and they could be solar powered so could be independent of the grid.

Battery swap is not practical unless you have a steady stream of users. Superchargers can be off-grid. With solar and battery, they could be easily done. The only problem would be a group of vehicles that need charging back to back in excess of the design load.

 

[Roentgenium]

Can any NSW/Qld locals advise if these locations look accurate:


Sydney
Tuggerah
Tarro
Taree
Macksville
Grafton
Ewingsdale
Brisbane
Cooroy


When comparing to the official map?

View attachment 68505

Melbourne
Seymour
Albury
Gundagai
Canberra
Goulburn
Ulladulla
Bulahdelah
Sydney (times 2)
Newcastle
Kempsey
Grafton
tad south of the Gold Coast
Brisbane
Gympie

 

[Chuq]

Melbourne
Seymour
Albury
Gundagai
Canberra
Goulburn
Ulladulla
Bulahdelah
Sydney (times 2)
Newcastle
Kempsey
Grafton
tad south of the Gold Coast
Brisbane
Gympie

Thanks Roentgenium - I plotted these on a map for comparison (used my existing Ewingsdale location for "tad south of the Gold Coast"):
https://batchgeo.com/map/cceba70ca29611edeb6c5153f62846cb

 

[danielp]

I'm curious if the number decreases significantly if they are spaced 300/350km apart. Starting at 350k apart initially would give more coverage prior to filling in.

 

[Dborn]

I'm curious if the number decreases significantly if they are spaced 300/350km apart. Starting at 350k apart initially would give more coverage prior to filling in.

I would have range anxiety at those intervals.

 

[WhiteStar]

I'm curious if the number decreases significantly if they are spaced 300/350km apart. Starting at 350k apart initially would give more coverage prior to filling in.

Initial coverage will logically be supplemented by destination chargers at resorts and hotels. It might be a slow journey but at least the gaps will be mitigated. Stretching out the distance between Superchargers will lessen the experience with the range anxiety. Strange to think of range anxiety in a Tesla. I've experienced that feeling many times in the LEAF.

 

[Chuq]

I'm curious if the number decreases significantly if they are spaced 300/350km apart. Starting at 350k apart initially would give more coverage prior to filling in.

It would mean that when people stop for a recharge, they would be there for over an hour. That's probably ok if you drive 350-400km, stop for lunch, and then drive another 350-400km afterwards, but I think Tesla have tried to match existing driving patterns as close as possible.

 

[Chuq]

I emailed the operator of http://supercharge.info about new locations and he let me know they basically rely on user updates: "Yep, anyone who happens to spot a supercharger under construction just sends email my way and I put it on the supercharger.info map. Same thing if they discover permits. So far I have only been adding sites for which we have discovered the exact address. This because with my map one can zoom in, all the way to street level, and I have to put the dot somewhere....so it ends up being incorrect if I don't have an address."

I figure there are enough members in Melbourne and Canberra to keep an eye on the new ones there. Are there any TMC members who live in, or regularly visit, Seymour, Albury-Wodonga, Gundagai, Goulburn or Ulladulla?

 

[meloccom]

I figure that any Goulburn Supercharger installation will need Goulburn Mulwaree Council approval.

 

[Roentgenium]

I had a brief look over planning alerts this morning and didn't see any DAs related to the tesla chargers at The Star. Didn't look at the Artarmon site.

I wonder if it would need council approval

 

[ixat]

Not at the Star; casinos get away with a ton of stuff and would have just hooked it up to their power anyway. Not too much major work involved, unlike digging up parking spaces in semi-public areas for a few days and installing outside electrical equipment like most SCs.

Edit: Speaking of Superchargers...

(Citipower electrical substation which the building to be the Tesla workshop is built around)

 

[Chuq]

I had a brief look over planning alerts this morning and didn't see any DAs related to the tesla chargers at The Star. Didn't look at the Artarmon site.

I wonder if it would need council approval

The Star ones are underground, not visible from the road, so perhaps not? The spaces are technically still being used for their original purpose - car-parking. Of course that's the fun of having hundreds of different councils across the country, you never know what their rules are..

 

[houdini]

Not at the Star; casinos get away with a ton of stuff and would have just hooked it up to their power anyway. Not too much major work involved, unlike digging up parking spaces in semi-public areas for a few days and installing outside electrical equipment like most SCs.

Edit: Speaking of Superchargers...

(Citipower electrical substation which the building to be the Tesla workshop is built around)

I've been out of the loop! Where is this? Is it the Richmond location? I think it was Church street or something from memory....

 

[ixat]

Yes, officially the address is Building 5 650 Church Street, Cremorne Vic. Although you can't really see it from there. It is the building bounded by Dale, Walnut and Newton streets. (googlemapslink)

Street view from Dale st carpark entrance (google streetview)
Street view from church Street. Hardly visible, look for the black and orange Cygnet sign. (google streetview)
Note that Tesla will not be listed on that sign fronting Church Street because it is for the business park nextdoor. I doubt Tesla will have any signage fronting Church Street.

See my post in the Tesla in Australia thread for more pictures/info.

 

[MangroveMike]

Melbourne
Seymour
Albury
Gundagai
Canberra
Goulburn
Ulladulla
Bulahdelah
Sydney (times 2)
Newcastle
Kempsey
Grafton
tad south of the Gold Coast
Brisbane
Gympie

I think Newcastle - Kempsey and Kempsey - Grafton would be too big a gap.

There was a lot of similar discussion on an earlier thread at http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/14254-Australian-Supercharger-network .

@heosat's map on page 9 would be close to the mark (and strangely not too different to Tesla's map ).

 

[Roentgenium]

I overlayed Teslas 2016 map from their new website over google maps (as best as I could) and picked up the names from there

- - - Updated - - -

Although on thinking about it again, there might have been one or two stretches in getting the name

 

[Chuq]

I overlayed Teslas 2016 map from their new website over google maps (as best as I could) and picked up the names from there

Ah, great idea! I hadn't noticed that some of the locations had changed from the old maps (ones published on tech/motoring sites in December).

The one north of Brisbane in particular - it used to be the five most northern ones (except for Ewingsdale - on the highway near Byron Bay) were virtually on the same longitude. That's what led me to place the far north one at Cooroy (which was an unusual location compared to Gympie). But the new map looks right.

I notice also the Central Coast site (Tuggerah on my map) has gone, and the Tarro/Newcastle ("Tarro" on my list is a suburb of Newcastle which is on the highway) one has been moved from 2016 to 2015!

- - - Updated - - -

I think Newcastle - Kempsey and Kempsey - Grafton would be too big a gap.

It would be Newcastle-Bulahdelah-Kempsey so all good there. Kempsey-Grafton is 196km