The local Walmart in Garden Grove, CA has just installed two D.C. Charging stations, each with two parking places. I do't see either a credit card or currency slot, so could they be free? Don't know, but they offer the two worldwide D.C. Formats with the twist of a dial. (There are 2 separate trigger thingys on each unit) I think we are seeing the start of a very big trend: mass EV adoption. If you're ordering a new Bolt, pay the extra and get DC capability.
DC Charging
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That's a big deal. Not because there are two chargers (which is more of the typical, insufficient and expensive approach), but because it's DCFC in a Walmart parking lot. If Walmart wants in on DCFC that's over 5,000 locations across the country, esually close to Interstates and major highways.
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+1 and that's what it's going take. Once a business like Wal-Greens enters the fray things could move quickly and with that infusion of VW fine helping to pay for this OMG we could be on the cusp of the EV revolution. Now if Wal-Mart would join? That would be a game changer.
This is exciting news if this is a corporate decision.
If you're going to have EV charging in a retail location, DC charging would be what you want. You're just not shopping for long enough for AC charging to make a big difference. Work locations on the other hand could even get by with 120v charging since cars are parked there for long periods of time.
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According to a book I read, Walmart has enough property space for every store to put up photoelectric panels and supply over 100% of its power needs from the Sun. So it can invest in solar powered DC chargers, and gain new EV customers. Now we need to know if this investment will be done.
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This will be also done by large service stations (selling gasoline and suppling many other services) because some of their constant customers will be converting from gasoline to electricity. So these stations will add DC charging for these same customers to stay longer, and spend more on their other services (food, beverages, etc). The investment of these DC chargers is much less than adding more gasoline pumps, but will be recovered sooner.
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There is no reason to have neighborhood fast charging stations, EVs are charged at home, you only need fast chargers on highways. Gas stations are going the way of video rental stores although the process will be much slower. Today you might see three or four gas stations at an intersection. By 2030 that number will drop to one, by 2040 there might be only one gas station in a town and by 2050 there might not be any. One of the benefits of having an electric car is that you don't have to go to a gas station to fill it, you can install your own charger for a nominal amount (~$1000 including labor). Neigborhood fast chargers are only useful if you have grossly inadequate EVs, i.e. a Nissan Leaf, they aren't needed by even semi-adequate EVs, Bolts, Model 3s, which have > 200 mile ranges. In 10 years 400 mile EVs will be affordable, at 400 miles of range the only time you would ever visit a DC charger is on a very long road trips and for those you would want the chargers at highway rest stops not at Walmarts.
I disagree 100%.
The majority of city dwellers rent. Either an apartment where they have little or no access to charging at home, or a house where they have to deal with a landlord over installing outdoor electrical outlets... even some home owners have issues dealing with HOA's and getting access to charging.
Then there are cities like NYC where Taxi's are the norm, when all those taxi's are electric will L2 charging at the base of operations be enough? I figure taxi's can run 24/7 if they have access to DC fast charging, without it they are more limited.
If it only took 5 min to fill up we would need less DCFC than we have gas stations, but with DCFC at it's fastest still taking 10 times as long as filling a gas tank, they will have to have enough charging stations to meet demand.
Keith
It seems to me with our 2016 Volt it does not make any sense to charge at a pay to charge facility. For instance our Volt is getting over 45 mpg on just the gas engine. Last trip yesterday was 48 mpg, just on gas. So, help me out here, if I pay $5.00 or more for a complete electric charge and can go with current fall road and temperature conditions, 55 miles, and with gas at $2.40 per gallon and can go at least 90 miles it seems a waste of money and time as well for a pay to charge facility.
The only viable option is EV Solutions where you pay a flat rate of $19.99 / month for unlimited charging, which also includes DC charging as well. That would make more sense in my opinion for a dedicated electric car and you have a charging station nearby...
The only viable option is EV Solutions where you pay a flat rate of $19.99 / month for unlimited charging, which also includes DC charging as well. That would make more sense in my opinion for a dedicated electric car and you have a charging station nearby...
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