EV Project & Blnk: In over their heads? (San Diego)

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Coffee_Slurry

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Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
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Location
Broken Arrow, OK
It's end of November now, and I haven't seen Public Charger #1 installed in San Diego.

To get 1,450 "Publicly Available Level 2 EV chargers" installed "Nov through June 2011", they're going to be busting up a lot of concrete in the next seven months!

That works out to about nine new chargers per weekday. We're 27 days into the installation window now, and I'm not seeing any activity. Anyone?

I'm not savvy in the ways of planning, permitting, and electrical construction, but this seems like a ludicrously aggressive plan.

Is EVProject capable of doing it, or is this all a funding ploy ready-made for overruns and delays?

I'm concerned that a general failure of EVProject to make good on the infrastructure could leave the early-2011 deliveries with more home charging than I was hoping for.
 
1,450 stations by June is perfectly doable if they are well coordinated, especially if they're clustered in groups. If there are no snags in equipment & material supply lines then I can see them getting it done in three months with room to spare. The hardest part is getting each site coordinated and planned out - where to make tie-ins, coordinating schedules, permits, etc.

Shovels can hit the dirt in May and they'll probably make their schedule.
=Smidge=
 
Is the Ecotality Blink EVSE UL certified yet? If not, that in itself would explain why there have not been any installed...
 
i dont see installing a charger requiring a whole lot of pavement work. access to power is relatively easy in most places. street lights, etc. are there.

i am guessing that no parking lots are being built to accommodate so ya, they can be done pretty quickly

its not like they would have to look far and wide for the labor. as i understand it, there are plenty of available hands
 
No residential Blinks have been installed yet (correct?). Will Nissan deliver Leafs to those waiting for their Blinks, or will this be a factor in deciding whom to deliver to first and end up working against the EV Project participants?
 
garygid said:
I think mid-year is the target "operational" date (when they are due to begin the EVProject's full data-gathering).

In their October presentation, EV Project / ECOtality said:
"Installations -- November 2010 through June 2011"
"Data collection -- July 2011 through December 2012"

If they're really not installing the first one until February(!), it seems like public chargers won't be very visible through the MY11 rollout.
 
Might this issue result in some participants wanting Nissan (dealers?) or others to loan/rent them a level 2 pluggable EVSE that can be plugged into a 30a 220v (like dryer) outlet (assuming one is conveniently available and near where the charging would take place) until their Blink is installed? I don't think the residential Leviton pluggables are listed/available yet. Of course if no pluggable becomes available before the Blink does, most would likely make do with the level 1 EVSE that comes with the Leaf.
 
Mossyleaf: "I believe your Charger if part of Etec or AV self pay will be installed prior to your delivery." -- this implies to me that a Leaf delivery occurs ONLY after some (owner selected) level 2 EVSE is installed. Am I interpreting/understanding you correctly?
 
I was an Architectural Project Coordinator for many years. Nothing made me more scared than when my boss would ask me to work on a "simple" project. In my experience "simple" projects have all the random problems of big projects but no room in their budgets for solutions. I'll take the 1 monster project over 1500 "simple" projects any day!

It sounds like some cities (LA) are going to expedite permits and "fast track" EV charger installs for public locations. It will also be very interesting to see if state politics play a role in public charger installations. California is a VERY different animal than Arizona. The next 6 mos is going to be very interesting.
 
MikeD said:
No residential Blinks have been installed yet (correct?). Will Nissan deliver Leafs to those waiting for their Blinks, or will this be a factor in deciding whom to deliver to first and end up working against the EV Project participants?

Probably a lot of people could do fine with L1 charging. If you park your car 12 hours each day that's 60 miles of range which is more than most people drive daily. Of course having L2 is better, and having a public L2 and L3 infrastructure is better still.
 
I thought it was only about 1000 L2 EVSEs and about 50 DC-QC "stations".

Basic steps:
1. Get firm commitments and city approval on locations.
2. Design power access, metering, distribution, spot signage, charging dock placements, and parking spots.
3. Draw up plans, get engineering signoffs, utility and city approvals, and permits.
3. Contract the work, begin construction.
4. Get necessary progress inspections
5. Finish construction, ready to install EVSEs.
6. Supply and install EVSEs, test, and get final city and PU inspections.
7. Schedule with property owner for "opening" to "public" use.

Yes, there is a lot of details for each project, at perhaps 100 to 200 locations, but there might be one QC included with a group of ten L2 EVSEs at a typical location. Not clear how many smaller (2 or 4 EVSEs) locations there might be.

Actual project locations (and size) will tell us a lot more than we know now.
 
garygid said:
I thought it was only about 1000 L2 EVSEs and about 50 DC-QC "stations".
eco-plan.png
 
Ok, thanks.
I see where the "1000" came from.

More than one public "charger" (charging station) per car?

The usage data should be interesting, especially when some of the "public" stations are not free.

Will CARWINGS show the fees for using these "chargers"?
 
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