Western Canada Superchargers

beeeerock · Jul 12, 2015

KenN said:
Yes, as I understood it, Greenlots is the operator and BCH is the owner of the BC DC fast chargers. New sites start out free to use, the move to a fee schedule as they see increased use.

Ah, makes sense! It will be interesting to see how the price per kWh settles out, relative to the actual price of power paid on our home power bills. 35 cents is essentially 3X my high tier at home. Not a huge dollar to 'fill the tank' in the scheme of things, but seems extreme when you consider the multiplication factor. Pricing could be all over the place between providers in these early days!

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dasRad said:
And how many of these BC Hydro CHAdeMO DCFC units have more than one charging head? This spring their DCFCs in both Kamloops and Squamish were out of commission for over a month. That's an awfully long time to wait to get a charge....

I can't say I've looked at these units closely, but the ones I've seen appear to be single head. You're right, maintenance will have to be spot on to keep them useful!

Morristhecat · Jul 13, 2015

Here is the BCFC website, for those that don't know. I see more expansion to the Okanagen. According to this site, Penticton is up. Any peeps out there can confirm?

Canuck · Jul 13, 2015

It would sure be great if every BCFC site had a Chademo adapter chained to it for use by Tesla drivers. With the DCFC pricing now, or soon to be, in place, it would likely pay itself off in no time. As is, you won't see me stopping at one. I don't see the need to buy the adapter for the odd occasion I would use it.

dasRad · Jul 13, 2015

If I had a pressing need for a CHAdeMO adapter, I would probably purchase one, but the way the CHAdeMO network is being implemented in BC is extremely poor. If electric vehicles are going to catch on for the general public there needs to be redundancy built into the charging network. Installing single headed units spaced far apart (relative to the range of EVs) is just bad engineering. Charging points need to be on either a much denser network, or have redundancy built in. To date, Tesla is the only one doing this and BC Hydro is just setting themselves up for failure. Just how happy is Joe Blow going to be when he pulls up to the only CHAdeMO within 100 km and finds that it is broken?

beeeerock · Jul 13, 2015

dasRad said:
If I had a pressing need for a CHAdeMO adapter, I would probably purchase one, but the way the CHAdeMO network is being implemented in BC is extremely poor. If electric vehicles are going to catch on for the general public there needs to be redundancy built into the charging network. Installing single headed units spaced far apart (relative to the range of EVs) is just bad engineering. Charging points need to be on either a much denser network, or have redundancy built in. To date, Tesla is the only one doing this and BC Hydro is just setting themselves up for failure. Just how happy is Joe Blow going to be when he pulls up to the only CHAdeMO within 100 km and finds that it is broken?

I agree completely. At the very least, they should be installing a few generic Level 2 units with good amperage to serve as a backup at each site. Ideally, a couple of Tesla HPWC's too. The fact that they're planning to charge a fairly high price for the power that can be had for free in many other locations (just not as fast) might also reduce the take-up rate.

nleggatt · Jul 14, 2015

Robin says no news on the new BC chargers

dasRad · Jul 14, 2015

nleggatt said:
Robin says no news on the new BC chargers

My impression is that Tesla really needs a local entity to provide / make available land in a suitable location in the vicinity of where Tesla has decided to locate a supercharger. It doesn't seem that Tesla is (usually) in a position to just go out and buy a bit of property.

So, the question of the moment is : Can anyone provide a suitable property in Kelowna and/or Merrit?

Zapped · Jul 14, 2015

Suitable property would include consideration for the closest available utility power. I'm not sure which has priority. Probably power although you can't have one without the other.

beeeerock · Jul 15, 2015

dasRad said:
My impression is that Tesla really needs a local entity to provide / make available land in a suitable location in the vicinity of where Tesla has decided to locate a supercharger. It doesn't seem that Tesla is (usually) in a position to just go out and buy a bit of property.

So, the question of the moment is : Can anyone provide a suitable property in Kelowna and/or Merrit?

From what I've read, Tesla typically doesn't buy the land or pay a lease on it either. They cover the cost of the infrastructure and look after the power bill, but the benefit to the landowner of having Tesla drivers around is supposed to be compensation for the space. Or so I've inferred. Given the locations I've seen, every site must be an individual case!

The catch is finding the right property in the right place, as you suggest. And then, making mutually acceptable arrangements with the owner. It doesn't strike me as a simple process and frankly, I can imagine that just getting a deal inked is a big piece of the total project cost.

nleggatt · Jul 15, 2015

In kamloops they are leasing the spots for $100/month

Canuck · Jul 15, 2015

beeeerock said:
From what I've read, Tesla typically doesn't buy the land or pay a lease on it either. They cover the cost of the infrastructure and look after the power bill, but the benefit to the landowner of having Tesla drivers around is supposed to be compensation for the space. Or so I've inferred. Given the locations I've seen, every site must be an individual case!

The catch is finding the right property in the right place, as you suggest. And then, making mutually acceptable arrangements with the owner. It doesn't strike me as a simple process and frankly, I can imagine that just getting a deal inked is a big piece of the total project cost.

I've read the opposite such was this:

Mayhemm said:
Stayed at the Travelodge last month en route to Vancouver and couldn't believe what the manager told me; Tesla pays him $400 per month to have the Superchargers there!

Talk about extortion! That hotel should be paying Tesla, since the spots clearly aren't in high demand! The place was dead.

If every property owner is demanding similar fees, no wonder the Superchargers are going up so slowly!

Supercharger - Golden, BC Canada - Page 3

beeeerock · Jul 15, 2015

Canuck said:
I've read the opposite such was this:

Supercharger - Golden, BC Canada - Page 3

LOL, yes, I saw that one too... and posted this link in the same thread: http://insideevs.com/tech-crunch-wha...arger-partner/ :biggrin:

Perhaps they will pay when stuck for a spot... but try not to advertise that they will. Or the article is simply wrong or out of date (I did find another independent page that said the same thing though).

dasRad · Jul 15, 2015

Paying rent or a lease on a property is significantly different from buying and owning the property. What Tesla needs is half a dozen parking spaces and room for some electrical gear. That's not an item that is commonly available through your leasing agency. More than likely, Tesla needs the property owner to approach them or for someone to make introductions.

beeeerock · Jul 15, 2015

dasRad said:
Paying rent or a lease on a property is significantly different from buying and owning the property. What Tesla needs is half a dozen parking spaces and room for some electrical gear. That's not an item that is commonly available through your leasing agency. More than likely, Tesla needs the property owner to approach them or for someone to make introductions.

I think that the process has evolved as the Supercharger network has expanded. In the beginning, nobody they approached for a site likely knew what a Tesla was, so any deal they struck likely cost them a typical lease rate and the power bill.

As Tesla has become known, I expect some sites are approaching THEM instead, wanting the status or value-add of having the Supercharger on site. In those cases, leases would be lower or non-existent and the power bill might be shared with or shouldered by the land owner.

There will still be sites that are necessary to complete a jump from one major center to the next. If nobody wants the site, or they are willing to bluff Tesla on it, I would assume lease/power costs would be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

Bottom line - the sites aren't cheap to build OR run, so the long term costs would have to be factored into the decision of where to site a Supercharger.

I don't think the one-size-fits-all approach to a site deal would work very well. The article I linked earlier is probably the best case scenario for Tesla and might even be based on the writer's assumptions and understanding rather than the actual facts. Based on the comments others have posted, I don't think that article can be 100% accurate - either that or the quoted comments from land owners they've included are false (unlikely).

fructose · Aug 5, 2015

Few pictures from my Western Canada tour last week.

Squamish Supercharger:

Kamloops Supercharger:

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Sorry, I guess after uploading one photo my quota has been reached.

Links:
Squamish:
http://i.imgur.com/1KjSza7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/e8SsPLf.jpg

In between Squamish and Kamloops:
http://i.imgur.com/wAfcZHn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kiKsvUj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/haZQvxr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2Zy7PuI.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/CD2VnJd.jpg

nleggatt · Aug 5, 2015

Who can we email about the lack of any progress in western Canada?

Paul Carter · Aug 5, 2015

nleggatt said:
Who can we email about the lack of any progress in western Canada?

I believe you fill out this form. And the domain seems odd, but that's what I get when I click on "Suggest a SuperCharger Location" at the bottom of this page: Supercharger | Tesla Motors Canada

Supercharging

Spurkey · Aug 5, 2015

nleggatt said:
Who can we email about the lack of any progress in western Canada?

You need to email your non-Tesla friends your referral link so that they start buying more cars so that Tesla can justify paying for more free charging stops.

beeeerock · Aug 5, 2015

fructose said:
Few pictures from my Western Canada tour last week.

Kamloops Supercharger:
View attachment 89528

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Sorry, I guess after uploading one photo my quota has been reached.

Don't be a stranger, post more, and I suspect you'll be able to attach more images! :biggrin:

I'll have to climb onto the roof of my house to see if I can get a line of sight to the SC (I'm over to the right of the image, back a ways). I could set up a telescope and spy on everyone stopping to charge... or maybe wire up a supertelephoto webcam... LOL

Canuck · Aug 5, 2015

beeeerock said:
Don't be a stranger, post more, and I suspect you'll be able to attach more images! :biggrin:

I'll have to climb onto the roof of my house to see if I can get a line of sight to the SC (I'm over to the right of the image, back a ways). I could set up a telescope and spy on everyone stopping to charge... or maybe wire up a supertelephoto webcam... LOL

Better yet, build a extension cord that attaches to the end of the Supercharger, and reaches your garage. Then you can Supercharge at home.

By the way, is this you? Vernon Yacht Club - August 1st I think:

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