Upstate NY's Capital District Finally Gets Fast Charge!

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LeftieBiker

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May 22, 2013
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Upstate New York, US
For years now there has been talk of QC stations being added on the interstates near Albany, but it was always sometime in the near-but-never-arriving future. There are a few stations in Massachusetts not completely out of range, and one I think just downstate of this region on I-90, but nothing really helpful...until now. With no fanfare that I've seen, EVgo has put in five, count 'em FIVE CHadeMO / SAE Combo (no L-2) stations. I found one of them last night in a very unlikely place: the smallest Hannaford Supermarket, in North Troy, a region that, aside from the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, is quite conservative. The only two EVs I've seen at that supermarket both belong to me. (Ironically, neither of them has a QC port, but hey, my next EV probably will.) Now I and the few other EV drivers in my area will be able to get to 80% charge quickly, which is especially helpful in the Winter here. I'll try to link the map, but it looks like the url will be generic. Put in ZIP code 12118 if you want to see the exact locations. It looks like we've finally joined the 21st Century.

https://www.nrgevgo.com/charging-locations/
 
I noticed this too. Very exciting. Interestingly, the CHAdeMO/CCS QC down in Carmel, NY is also at a Hanaford's. There is obviously some agreement with the chain.

Albany is a great location for me. Most of my travel involves taking the thruway east to Albany. Then I head north to Burlington, VT, south to Carmel, NY, or continue east to Portland, ME. Albany connects me to all of these destinations. Now I just need a Bolt/Leaf 2/Model III with enough range to get to Albany in the first place.

Albany also connects downstaters to Lake George/Saratoga and beyond to the Adirondacks.

The next step is to put them at thruway rest stops.
 
LeftieBiker said:
For years now there has been talk of QC stations being added on the interstates near Albany, but it was always sometime in the near-but-never-arriving future...
Congratulations.

California has had a plan to place ~50 kW DC charge sites on I-5 for almost ten years, and Upstate California is still waiting...

http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/about.htm
 
The one area lacking is the routes North of Albany, that go into the northern Adirondacks. Burlington VT has QC stations, that remains a possibility. but if you try to travel North or northwest you run into an EV Desert.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The one area lacking is the routes North of Albany, that go into the northern Adirondacks. Burlington VT has QC stations, that remains a possibility. but if you try to travel North or northwest you run into an EV Desert.
Not to mention heading west. There is nothing here in Syracuse other than Tesla. Forget making it to Buffalo!
 
GetOffYourGas said:
LeftieBiker said:
The one area lacking is the routes North of Albany, that go into the northern Adirondacks. Burlington VT has QC stations, that remains a possibility. but if you try to travel North or northwest you run into an EV Desert.
Not to mention heading west. There is nothing here in Syracuse other than Tesla. Forget making it to Buffalo!

Yes, Central and Western NY are different regions, and they are still in the dark, in this age of High Tech Hype. With efforts being made to redevelop Buffalo, that's where I'd expect to see them next, followed by Syracuse, to enable crossing the length of the state.
 
LeftieBiker said:
GetOffYourGas said:
LeftieBiker said:
The one area lacking is the routes North of Albany, that go into the northern Adirondacks. Burlington VT has QC stations, that remains a possibility. but if you try to travel North or northwest you run into an EV Desert.
Not to mention heading west. There is nothing here in Syracuse other than Tesla. Forget making it to Buffalo!

Yes, Central and Western NY are different regions, and they are still in the dark, in this age of High Tech Hype. With efforts being made to redevelop Buffalo, that's where I'd expect to see them next, followed by Syracuse, to enable crossing the length of the state.
Frankly, I would expect Syracuse before Buffalo. At least we are at the crossroads of the state. Decent QC here would allow easier travel in any direction through upstate.

Also interesting that you don't consider CNY or WNY to be "upstate". I grew up downstate. To me, anything north of the Catskills is upstate.
 
Also interesting that you don't consider CNY or WNY to be "upstate". I grew up downstate. To me, anything north of the Catskills is upstate.

To those of us who grew up, er "here" there is "Upstate" (North to the Canadian border), "Downstate" (Roughly South of Kingston) "Central NY" (the Mohawk Valley corridor to Syracuse) and "Western NY" (West of Syracuse). I've seen the same terms used in Central NY, but I'll make the title more precise anyway.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Also interesting that you don't consider CNY or WNY to be "upstate". I grew up downstate. To me, anything north of the Catskills is upstate.

To those of us who grew up, er "here" there is "Upstate" (North to the Canadian border), "Downstate" (Roughly South of Kingston) "Central NY" (the Mohawk Valley corridor to Syracuse) and "Western NY" (West of Syracuse). I've seen the same terms used in Central NY, but I'll make the title more precise anyway.
Yeah, that's far too much granularity for someone living south of Kingston ;)
 
Now I'm curious!

For the record, I grew up in East Fishkill, in the Hudson Valley. It's not upstate to anyone outside of NYC. It is strongly tied to NYC culturally, though.

I am frustrated that the entire length of the Thruway isn't electrified. It would take such little effort to put a QC in every rest stop from NYC to Buffalo. Instead, the state spent just as much money on "studies". They love to study problems and solutions. They don't seem interested in actually solving anything, though...
 
Since EVgo is installing stations up here, the state should just let them use the small area required for Fast Charge stations - preferably with at least one L-2 station per rest stop as well.
 
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