EVConnect wins contract to DCFC I-5 and Highway 99

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http://www.evconnect.com/press-releases/ev-connect-wins-contract-to-complete-key-routes-along-the-west-coast-electric-highway/

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 8, 2016 – EV Connect, a leading provider of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging solutions, including development of the industry’s most innovative and open cloud-based software platform for managing the EV charging eco-system, today announced that it has been awarded a $1.8 million contract from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to complete key routes of the West Coast Electric Highway, a network of fast charging and Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations that will stretch from the Canadian to the Mexican borders. In addition, EV Connect will provide management of the charging ecosystem which includes the charging stations, host locations, electric utility interaction and the driver experience.

The CEC awarded a total of $8.8 million in grants to complete the California portion of the Highway. EV Connect’s awards include segments of the California 99 and Interstate 5 highways. Each location will provide one or two 50 kW Dual-Standard DC Fast Chargers (featuring both an SAE Combo and CHAdeMO connector) and at least one 7.2 kW dual-head Level 2 charger equipped with standard J1772 connectors. Charge station site hosts include Pilot Flying J Travel Centers, Staples and Hilton Hotel locations.

“The West Coast Electric Highway is an important component in the rapidly increasing adoption of electric vehicles within North America, particularly for inter-city travel”, said Jordan Ramer, EV Connect CEO. “EV Connect’s deep experience in the management of the entire EV ecosystem will provide an efficient, reliable and easy-to-use experience.”
 
The State's Notice of Proposed award is here.

These are the corridor descriptions:
1. I-5: Oregon Border to Red Bluff
2. I-5: South of Red Bluff to north of Sacramento
3. SR 99: South of Sacramento to north of Fresno
4. SR 99: Fresno to north of Wheeler Ridge
5. US 101: San Jose to Buellton
6. I-5: Wheeler Ridge to Santa Clarita
7. I-5: San Clemente to Oceanside
8. SR 99: South of Red Bluff to north of Sacramento
9. I-5: South of Sacramento to north of Wheeler Ridge

CEC_15_601_NOPA_Table.jpg


The other thing that is significant is that grants were already issued in 2014 for I-5 and SR-99 from south of Sacramento to Wheeler Ridge. So the awards in the table above are overlaying the chargers that are supposed to be installed from the earlier grants, which have not appeared yet, two years after that NOPA. The 2014 grants were all issued to non-profit organizations. Hopefully these commercial entities can deploy their chargers faster than the non-profits can.
 
Any copy of the earlier NPO 2014 grants, that are still unbuilt? Where did the money go? To whom.
 
VW e-Golf batteries are going to pay a hell of a price with all those quick chargers, back to back. Wonder if level 2 240V 30 or 40 amp units will be built concurrently, side by side to the DCFC versions, for less aggressive recharges.
 
JoulesThief said:
VW e-Golf batteries are going to pay a hell of a price with all those quick chargers, back to back. Wonder if level 2 240V 30 or 40 amp units will be built concurrently, side by side to the DCFC versions, for less aggressive recharges.
I get about 15 miles per hour of 240v. (Because I have an SE). I hope they would place them closer so I only have to stop an hour for each spot..haha
 
JoulesThief said:
Any copy of the earlier NPO 2014 grants, that are still unbuilt? Where did the money go? To whom.
Notice of Proposed Award PON-13-606
Proposal #40 - US Green Vehicle Council - Corridor DC Fast Charging Infrastructure

I had posted this to another forum in June 2014. I don't have the source documents handy for how I got the locations.
The I-5 corridor proposed by the US Green Vehicle Council is pretty well placed. Starting from an existing CHAdeMO at a Walgreens near Downtown San Jose, here are the distances and locations:
72 miles to Santa Nella Villiage (near 152/I-5)
74 miles to Coalinga (@ 198/I-5)
56 miles to Lost Hills (@ 46/I-5)
61 miles to Wheeler Ridge (across I-5 from Tejon Ranch Tesla Supercharger)
48 miles to Valencia

Of course, a DCFC at Gilroy would make going over 152 easier too.

The highway 99 corridor in the same proposal looks good too with Stockton, Merced, Fresno, Tulare.
Since that time, NRG has installed a pair of BTC chargers at the Gilroy Premium outlets and I have seen reference to another site in development just off I-5 in Lebec between Wheeler Ridge and Valencia.

I would personally prefer to travel on 101 between the Bay Area and the LA Basin if I had to stop for EV charging. Who knows when we will get something between the existing NRG sites in Salinas and San Luis Obispo. King City and Paso Robles would be nice 50 mile spacing from Salinas with only another 40 miles to San Luis Obispo.
 
You also may notice that the Energy Commission gave the US Green Vehicle Council only $500,000 for 9 or 10 sites covering about 200 miles on I-5 and more than 250 miles on CA-99, while the recent proposed award to ChargePoint for Red Bluff to the Oregon border, which is only 150 miles, got almost $2,000,000.
 
miimura said:
You also may notice that the Energy Commission gave the US Green Vehicle Council only $500,000 for 9 or 10 sites covering about 200 miles on I-5 and more than 250 miles on CA-99, while the recent proposed award to ChargePoint for Red Bluff to the Oregon border, which is only 150 miles, got almost $2,000,000.

If it's going to cost me $10 every 60 or 70 miles to fast charge, and have to sit around for 20 minutes at each recharge, I'll be using the ICE powered TDI instead, regardless of the cost of a gallon of diesel, my time is worth something, not sitting around, waiting for a recharge.
 
JoulesThief said:
miimura said:
You also may notice that the Energy Commission gave the US Green Vehicle Council only $500,000 for 9 or 10 sites covering about 200 miles on I-5 and more than 250 miles on CA-99, while the recent proposed award to ChargePoint for Red Bluff to the Oregon border, which is only 150 miles, got almost $2,000,000.

If it's going to cost me $10 every 60 or 70 miles to fast charge, and have to sit around for 20 minutes at each recharge, I'll be using the ICE powered TDI instead, regardless of the cost of a gallon of diesel, my time is worth something, not sitting around, waiting for a recharge.
So why are you even interested in this infrastructure build-out? Some of us have made the decision to go all electric, so this infrastructure is the difference between being able to use our own vehicles vs. renting a vehicle for a trip out of our own metro area.
 
miimura said:
JoulesThief said:
miimura said:
You also may notice that the Energy Commission gave the US Green Vehicle Council only $500,000 for 9 or 10 sites covering about 200 miles on I-5 and more than 250 miles on CA-99, while the recent proposed award to ChargePoint for Red Bluff to the Oregon border, which is only 150 miles, got almost $2,000,000.

If it's going to cost me $10 every 60 or 70 miles to fast charge, and have to sit around for 20 minutes at each recharge, I'll be using the ICE powered TDI instead, regardless of the cost of a gallon of diesel, my time is worth something, not sitting around, waiting for a recharge.
So why are you even interested in this infrastructure build-out? Some of us have made the decision to go all electric, so this infrastructure is the difference between being able to use our own vehicles vs. renting a vehicle for a trip out of our own metro area.

Options.... it's all about options. If my next e vehicle has a 200 mile range between recharges, and charges in 20 minutes, my choices become greater.
 
JoulesThief said:
miimura said:
So why are you even interested in this infrastructure build-out? Some of us have made the decision to go all electric, so this infrastructure is the difference between being able to use our own vehicles vs. renting a vehicle for a trip out of our own metro area.
Options.... it's all about options. If my next e vehicle has a 200 mile range between recharges, and charges in 20 minutes, my choices become greater.
Well, this is today's infrastructure for today's cars. That means that the chargers are limited to 50kW, at best. Your 20 minute stop can only add up to 83 miles and that's only if you have a very efficient car that get 5 miles/kWh (or you drive slow) and it can take full power for the whole time. Today's e-Golf cannot take 50kW - it can only take about 40kW and after 20 minutes it starts tapering down. Freeway speeds common for intercity travel are only going to get you about 4 mi/kWh, so 20 minutes only adds about 53 miles on today's DCFC units. A car with a bigger battery may have a higher voltage pack, so it could take more power. Adding 150 miles would take 45 minutes, best case. I honestly don't think we're going to see industry standard 100kW chargers deployed on inter-city corridors until 2020. Of course, Tesla has it today and they're steadily filling in more routes throughout the country, not just between SF and LA.
 
miimura said:
JoulesThief said:
miimura said:
So why are you even interested in this infrastructure build-out? Some of us have made the decision to go all electric, so this infrastructure is the difference between being able to use our own vehicles vs. renting a vehicle for a trip out of our own metro area.
Options.... it's all about options. If my next e vehicle has a 200 mile range between recharges, and charges in 20 minutes, my choices become greater.
Well, this is today's infrastructure for today's cars. That means that the chargers are limited to 50kW, at best. Your 20 minute stop can only add up to 83 miles and that's only if you have a very efficient car that get 5 miles/kWh (or you drive slow) and it can take full power for the whole time. Today's e-Golf cannot take 50kW - it can only take about 40kW and after 20 minutes it starts tapering down. Freeway speeds common for intercity travel are only going to get you about 4 mi/kWh, so 20 minutes only adds about 53 miles on today's DCFC units. A car with a bigger battery may have a higher voltage pack, so it could take more power. Adding 150 miles would take 45 minutes, best case. I honestly don't think we're going to see industry standard 100kW chargers deployed on inter-city corridors until 2020. Of course, Tesla has it today and they're steadily filling in more routes throughout the country, not just between SF and LA.

And that is why a Tesla 3 and a deposit might be worth taking a look into very shortly. I'm just not keen on being a beta tester, and not getting the $7500 federal tax rebate if it runs out for Teslas while I am in line. The cost accountant in me wants to see how they get a big 200 mile range battery in there and are still able to sell it for $35,000. How stripped down is a $35k Model going to be, when I foresee most of the increase in costs being in the extended range battery? Or will it be a 45k model when similarly equipped to a Golf SEL? In the mean time, we all wait.
 
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