Superchargers in Northern California (location speculation)

[PLUS EV]

Looking at rural areas of Northern CA on the new Tesla supercharger map, a couple things jumped out at me:

First, in NE CA, they got rid of the goofy Greenville/Adin/Newell sequence of superchargers, which never made any sense whatsoever in the real world. It was probably just some intern picking names on a map that were appropriate spacing without realizing how insignificant these places were. These were replaced with a much more realistic Susanville and Alturas although they are listed as Coming Soon(!) in 2022, so I wouldn't hold my breath on those. If and when they do get built, they will enable travel to and through the area although not necessarily along the most efficient path.

Perhaps more exciting, there is a Yreka location listed as opening in Q1 2021. Of course, I would take the timing with a huge grain of salt, but I would think this site might already be under construction or at least have an outstanding permit for them to make such a claim. If you happen to be passing through on I-5, by all means scout out the town. It's only like 2 exits so it shouldn't take long. And don't forget to check out the relatively new casino on the other side of the freeway, as that could be a decent spot for a supercharger as well. Also, if you are continuing north, take a look in Myrtle Creek, OR as that was a similarly surprising new location on the map listed as opening Q1 2021.

 

[Zorg]

Exciting news: fort Bragg is on the list for Q2 21. I also see Loomis and Auburn, which should make the climb up Donner pass easier.

 

[Owner]

Yreka will be great offering flexibility going up I5

El Portal and Mariposa! Those will help with Yosemite flexibility too

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

CalTrans recently completed the installation of two 62.5kW ChargePoint DC Fast chargers in that area. They are at the Moon Lim Lee Rest Area south of Weaverville closer to Douglas City. You would need a CHAdeMO adapter to charge a Tesla there.

Plugshare - Moon Lim Lee Rest Area

Chargers are also live on hwy 96 in Willow creek @ Caltrans maintenance station. just added it to plugshare / needs to be tested w/ a car still but is live
CCS and CHAdeMO

PlugShare - Willow Creek

 

[PedramGh]

The Berkeley 'future' Supercharger grey icon has been removed from the Tesla.com/find us 2021 updated map.

I was thinking that the TouchLess gas station, 2130 Fulton St, Berkeley,
closed since the pandemic, could have been a possibility.
I believe that the city of Berkeley try to remove service stations from the downtown area.

View attachment 624398

The city of Berkeley already has a ban on natural gas for new buildings:

Berkeley first city in California to ban natural gas in new buildings
​

And also Berkeley also set a goal of being a Fossil Fuel Free city, and becoming a net carbon sink by 2030.

Prohibition on the Resale of Used Combustion Vehicles in 2040
​

It is correct. Honestly I could predict that. However, I will not be surprised to see future networks coming with 3 connectors: DC, CHadeMO and Tesla, adding stalls in Gas Stations. I also think that once the Supercharger Network is saturated, Tesla will move from having supercharger sites and install smaller destination charging stalls in large scattered numbers in parking lots, shopping malls, even street curbs etc.

 

[PedramGh]

Tesla moved away from installing a Supercharger in Pinole and decided to update the location to Hercules. Possibly a planning issue with Pinole. Target opening for Hercules is 2022.

 

[Zorg]

Quick observation. 3 years ago, I believe that the east bay had SC in Fremont (factory) and Dublin sales center. The normal stops on the way up to Truckee were either Vallejo or Rocklin (there may have been one in Sacramento). Looking at that same trip today (880 to 80), we have 15 SC between Fremont and Truckee (not counting Fremont nor Truckee) with 5 more on the way. The growth in SC stations in CA over the last few years is astounding.

 

[Pluto]

Quick observation. 3 years ago, I believe that the east bay had SC in Fremont (factory) and Dublin sales center. The normal stops on the way up to Truckee were either Vallejo or Rocklin (there may have been one in Sacramento). Looking at that same trip today (880 to 80), we have 15 SC between Fremont and Truckee (not counting Fremont nor Truckee) with 5 more on the way. The growth in SC stations in CA over the last few years is astounding.

Yep, the supercharger rollout has definitely accelerated in California, the network here is growing at a rate of 40-50% each year:

In addition, November of 2020 more than doubled the previous record for new sites opened in a single month:

 

[israndy]

Gas stations? I think you need a bigger lot as there are more and more electric cars. It would be nice if Supercharger stations had a trashcan and washer for the windshield and perhaps a way to check your tire pressure, and of course get some grub and use the toidy, but I don't see gas stations moving electric. Having space for 4-6 cars to do their business is just a recipe for a logjam. Tesla is now opening 72 car superchargers, that's the future. Put in a shopping center you have access to whatever you need to distract you during your charge cycle even if it's only 15 minutes long (like mine typically are).

Pedram, didn't you say we were getting another station at the Target there in Emeryville? That probably was too much to ALSO have one in Berkeley

 

[israndy]

Exciting news: fort Bragg is on the list for Q2 21. I also see Loomis and Auburn, which should make the climb up Donner pass easier.

At the moment I still use the DrivetheArc free CHAdeMO chargers. They may go away any day, but it sure nice that every time I wanna leave the state on 80 I can get to almost Elko for free.

 

[Benjamin Brooks]

At the moment I still use the DrivetheArc free CHAdeMO chargers. They may go away any day, but it sure nice that every time I wanna leave the state on 80 I can get to almost Elko for free.

They're still free? I thought changed to paid...

 

[israndy]

You have to check them out in the app, since they drive thru the bay area a lot of electric car owners ("guilty!") were taking advantage of them for local, non-arc drives. So they started putting in discounted times. Every night they are all free, but during the day they have discounted times in the bay area between 25% and 75% off the normal charging fee, but outside the bay area like Watsonville and past Sacramento going the other way they are free all the time

 

[totoro722]

Exciting news: fort Bragg is on the list for Q2 21. I also see Loomis and Auburn, which should make the climb up Donner pass easier.

Certainly glad to see Ft. Bragg. That makes a lot more sense than previously indicated Mendocino.

 

[PLUS EV]

Quick observation. 3 years ago, I believe that the east bay had SC in Fremont (factory) and Dublin sales center. The normal stops on the way up to Truckee were either Vallejo or Rocklin (there may have been one in Sacramento). Looking at that same trip today (880 to 80), we have 15 SC between Fremont and Truckee (not counting Fremont nor Truckee) with 5 more on the way. The growth in SC stations in CA over the last few years is astounding.

Vacaville was the stop back then. There wasn't anything in Vallejo and Sacramento.

 

[PLUS EV]

Certainly glad to see Ft. Bragg. That makes a lot more sense than previously indicated Mendocino.

Yeah this was the other one I was excited about. Hopefully Q2 means they have something lined up.

 

[Zorg]

Vacaville was the stop back then. There wasn't anything in Vallejo and Sacramento.

You're right! Sure was slim pickings vs. now.

 

[PedramGh]

Gas stations? I think you need a bigger lot as there are more and more electric cars. It would be nice if Supercharger stations had a trashcan and washer for the windshield and perhaps a way to check your tire pressure, and of course get some grub and use the toidy, but I don't see gas stations moving electric. Having space for 4-6 cars to do their business is just a recipe for a logjam. Tesla is now opening 72 car superchargers, that's the future. Put in a shopping center you have access to whatever you need to distract you during your charge cycle even if it's only 15 minutes long (like mine typically are).

Pedram, didn't you say we were getting another station at the Target there in Emeryville? That probably was too much to ALSO have one in Berkeley

I still think that there will be less and less demand for gas and we will have so many charging stations in the city that it makes sense to convert gas pumps into charging stations. Remember that currently EV Go sites come with 2 to 4 stalls in average - and maybe urban stall or even supercharger stall can be a good candidate specifically for Tesla. This makes sense when the number of stations are more than demand of customers. I think biggest challenge for Tesla is site and planing and I won’t be surprised if Gas Station owners want that future business. I will also love to see stations with solar covers like what you see in Kettleman City in smaller scale in the cities in each street. A Tesla supercharger station with a pretty neat mini market or a collection of self service vending machines.

Yeah the move with Target in Oakland is probably on hold or cancelled. It was a part of Tesla-Target contract but it might not be a priority given the healthy number of super chargers in east bay right now. To be honest I’m more surprised that Pinole Supercharger is canceled. There is definitely a need in that area and Target in Pinole could be a very good site for this purpose. Plenty of space, a lot of shops nearby, could be a very good site for urban chargers.

 

[GenSao]

Tesla moved away from installing a Supercharger in Pinole and decided to update the location to Hercules. Possibly a planning issue with Pinole. Target opening for Hercules is 2022.

With a 2022 timeline, I see two potential development locations: The Safeway Center and the retail portion of Sycamore Crossing. Although the plans do not show EV chargers, they can be amended at a later time. The locations have easy access to I-80 and CA-4.

 

[Watts_Up]

The Berkeley 'future' Supercharger grey icon has been removed from the Tesla.com/find us 2021 updated map.

I was thinking that the TouchLess gas station, 2130 Fulton St, Berkeley,
closed since the pandemic, could have been a possibility.
I believe that the city of Berkeley try to remove service stations from the downtown area.

The city of Berkeley already has a ban on natural gas for new buildings:

Berkeley first city in California to ban natural gas in new buildings
​

And also Berkeley also set a goal of being a Fossil Fuel Free city, and becoming a net carbon sink by 2030.

Prohibition on the Resale of Used Combustion Vehicles in 2040
​

This gas station which had been fenced for several months has been demolished and will be replaced by a building.

It would be interesting to check the permit when it will be published for any possible public parking and EV charging.

 

[israndy]

Oh, no! That's my old Chevron from when I worked in Berkeley. I loved that place. Haven't been there in decades.