Yesterday, I was working at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
You might recall that the resort was one of the first places in Wisconsin to have an EV charger.
As I pulled in to the conference center to work for the day, I saw several electrician vans parked near where the charging station was. Hmmmm. Something was up. I knew I would have to check it out. When I got a break later, I headed that direction to see what was going on.
Lo, and behold, not one but TWO brand-new Tesla chargers were going in where the original Chargepoint Level 1 station had been. I walked over to get a closer look and speak with the electricians.
They were just finishing off the second charger while I was there. Both chargers are on 240V 100 amp circuits. Either one could power my house! I checked the Tesla web page to see what the power rating of the Model S internal charger is, and saw that it’s 40 amps. For the single charger. As an option, your car can have TWO chargers for 20kW of power. That’s about 80 amps at 240V. So, the new chargers at the resort can handle TWO Tesla Model S cars with dual chargers AT THE SAME TIME!
Now what about the poor old level 1 charger that was already there? I saw it strewn to the side. It almost looked as though a car had hit it, taking the pedestal clear off it’s base. The electrician had assured me that it was going to be moved over several parking spaces and re-installed. While many people don’t think much of level 1 charging, I think it really does meet a need. It’s perfect for electric motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles, as well as home-built EVs.
I’ve also heard rumors of J1772 chargers being installed, but didn’t see any sign of that yet. The resort is located within Tesla range of Chicago, and the golf courses and other features in the area appeal to those who have pocketbooks to afford Teslas. At the original ribbon cutting for the first charger, there were four EVs in attendance; a red Tesla Roadster from the dealership, a privately-owned blue Tesla Roadster (which I got to go for a ride in!), my Electro-Metro, and a friend’s Electric Ford Ranger. The real idea of the chargers is for Tesla owners to have a place to plug in while they are up golfing for the weekend.
As I was leaving for the day, I snapped a couple more quick photos with my cell phone of the finished installation. I also noticed something else unusual. There were several Chevy Volts in the parking lot that I parked in. Enough that I had to actually count. 6 Volts in total. Not only that, but there were also TWO Ford C-Max Energis. Not the regular hybrids, BOTH were the PLUG-IN hybrids! There was also a Lexus Hybrid SUV, a gen 2 Insight, and a Camry Hybrid. Most of the plates on the plug-ins were Illinois plates. (Wisconsin has NO tax incentives for plug-in cars.) There were also plates on the plug-in hybrids from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and even Nebraska. Looks like some of these drivers are enjoying the long-range road-trip abilities of plug-in hybrids.
Thinking about it, by chance, there were more plug-in cars in this one parking lot then there usually is at half the electric car meetings I go to. It’s pretty amazing that just a few years ago the electric cars were half home-built and half out of the average man’s price-range, and NOW there are twice as many commercially built plug-ins and people barely think of them as special!
Seems like we are making progress. Remember, next time you are in the market for a car, just say “No Plug, No deal!” And there’s more and more places to plug in every day!
Stay charged up!
-Ben
