Tesla in Queensland

[WhiteStar]

It is definitely worthwhile chatting to management while you are charging and talk about the benefits of hosting a supercharger. Tesla have said that if a site came to *them* and the host site, lease, power supply, etc. issues were already sorted, they would look very seriously at it, even if it wasn't on their immediate roadmap.

Local knowledge is very handy for identifying these locations... while I've driven between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast a few times, and also from the Gold Coast to Rockhampton before, it was many years ago and searching for EV charging sites wasn't at the front of my mind at the time

That would be great if Tesla proactively accelerated its Queensland rollout. The route up the coast to the Barrier Reef is not only a spectacular one but is also very symbolic in the battle to save it. We need a lot more Tesla's and other EV's on the road if we are to have any hope of it still being there for future generations.

I really hope SC's at the Sunshine Coast, Maryborough / Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Proserpine & beyond to Cairns are fast tracked. Great publicity for altruism not seen in many commercial endeavours.

 

[Dborn]

Was chatting to another owner at Richmond on Monday. He told me his brother owned/ran a hotel in Rocky, applied for a destination charger and was knocked back!! He did say the hotel was possibly not in the best part of town, but there are no destination chargers in the area. He was prepared to have it up and running within a week. What gives?

 

[SR22DRIVER]

That would be great if Tesla proactively accelerated its Queensland rollout. The route up the coast to the Barrier Reef is not only a spectacular one but is also very symbolic in the battle to save it. We need a lot more Tesla's and other EV's on the road if we are to have any hope of it still being there for future generations.

I really hope SC's at the Sunshine Coast, Maryborough / Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Proserpine & beyond to Cairns are fast tracked. Great publicity for altruism not seen in many commercial endeavours.

I also agree I would be great to steadily expand the supercharger all the way to Cairns. I realise it a a chicken and egg situation, but without some infrastructure in place in the near future, prospective customers are more likely to keep delaying purchase of a Tesla. I also appreciate it is a costly exercise.

Even some skid mounted stations would be a good start and would likely be sufficient for a few years. Once the superchargers are in place, customers will place orders I am absolutely sure of that. Two years ago I would not have even considered a Tesla because of a lack of supercharger. How things have changed. I give Tesla top marks for the network of supercharger they have established in a relatively short timeframe.

The Model S and Model X are a perfect touring vehicle. I believe they sell themselves. However at least some infrastructure needs to be in place first. Destination chargers are fine if staying overnight, but for motorists travelling long distances, rapid charging is a must.

 

[NovoCasGreeny]

That would be great if Tesla proactively accelerated its Queensland rollout. The route up the coast to the Barrier Reef is not only a spectacular one but is also very symbolic in the battle to save it. We need a lot more Tesla's and other EV's on the road if we are to have any hope of it still being there for future generations.

I really hope SC's at the Sunshine Coast, Maryborough / Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Proserpine & beyond to Cairns are fast tracked. Great publicity for altruism not seen in many commercial endeavours.

I think the only risk for this deployment if favour of other areas would be something like this (RACV Electric highway in WA presents the same issue). 100% agree on the more EVs the better, let's hope with a pay for kWh service for the 3 the network hits a phase of rpaid deployment in 2017-2020.
New 'superfast' charger opens Qld highways to electric cars

 

[NovoCasGreeny]

Great suggestions @WhiteStar ! It is definitely worthwhile chatting to management while you are charging and talk about the benefits of hosting a supercharger. Tesla have said that if a site came to *them* and the host site, lease, power supply, etc. issues were already sorted, they would look very seriously at it, even if it wasn't on their immediate roadmap.

Local knowledge is very handy for identifying these locations... while I've driven between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast a few times, and also from the Gold Coast to Rockhampton before, it was many years ago and searching for EV charging sites wasn't at the front of my mind at the time

Out of interest (in response to @*KT* 's post) I look up Miriam Vale's population.. 422! Imagine the 350kW superchargers going in here... eight Tesla's charging at once would put a serious spike in the town's usage!

Local knowledge is key, automatic support would remove so many hurdles for them. I mentioned it on another thread but I think for 350 kW charging you will see PowerPack V2 installs handling the big surges, not the grid. This would be a cost effective way of providing this charging without enormous power delivery infrastructure upgrades, which may have a bit of a domino effect particularly if it exceeds the town capacity. Maximum draw on a house is roughly 20 kW (240*80A, not sure??) so 8*350 kW would be 2.8 MW, that's a big chunk of capacity vs 8 MW max at 400*20 for the town (probably not designed to cater for this). I do not know enough about the grid but from a common perspective I would envisage some gold plating being demanded!! Probably side by side solar PV installs for these to provide the electrons too!!

 

[WhiteStar]

Charged at Sarina Showgrounds today. All of a sudden the nest of crows above where I was charging decided to do a collective crow family poop on my car. Then this guy arrives taking photos of my car & saying "smile for the camera".

Turns out he was irate at "Tesla drivers not paying for their power at Sarina Showgrounds" !!!

I asked "who should I give my money to?". He bacame a lot more friendly & said I should pay the caretaker Dan. I went over to see Dan & assured him I'd pay tomorrow after I know what the total amount owing was.

Everyone was happy

 

[WhiteStar]

Another excellent spot for a Supercharger or Destination Charger, Mirage Whitsundays.

Definitely one of the best possible choices in Airlie Beach & Cannonvale. Looking at Plugshare, the nearest 3 phase charge point was just up the road at Able Point Boat Yard. I drove the short distance past the yacht club to discover the Able Point Boat Yard closed until Monday. Not a huge problem but returned to Mirage & they said, “no problem, we can run an extension lead to your car”. So in 24 hours, it’ll be fully charged but of course a 3 phase 32 A destination charger would be awesome. I mentioned to management that they should speak to Tesla & get some chargers.

 

[Attica04]

Have you guys since this article on the new Tesla Showroom to be built in the Valley?
Brisbane Development - Urban Development & Infrastructure News

 

[garyjac]

Yup...separate thread.

 

[baillies]

Was chatting to another owner at Richmond on Monday. He told me his brother owned/ran a hotel in Rocky, applied for a destination charger and was knocked back!! He did say the hotel was possibly not in the best part of town, but there are no destination chargers in the area. He was prepared to have it up and running within a week. What gives?

Maybe because the 4 new 22 kW chargers were already planned for the public(?) car park???

 

[alexeiw123]

Another excellent spot for a Supercharger or Destination Charger, Mirage Whitsundays.

Off topic, but I stayed there a few months ago. Nice hotel, nice spot! Judging by the view it is near the same out look too!

 

[WhiteStar]

Off topic, but I stayed there a few months ago. Nice hotel, nice spot! Judging by the view it is near the same out look too!

Yes I think it’s probably in the best spot, being in Cannonvale just a short distance over the hill from Airlie Beach but just far enough away to be more quiet & relaxed. Across the road from Whitsunday Shopping Centre where you can find most supplies. A short walk to Banjo’s Bar & Bistro, highly recommended for great food & really friendly locals. If you want great beer (and food), you may need to venture to Denmans at Mantra in Airlie. Also the restaurant at Mirage is almost complete & due to open soon.