A Lament for Jasper (3200km Around Western Canada)

[music_cities]

Thanks for the photos and the great trip report ! BC is fantastic for EV road trips. I'm based in Canmore!

In spite of this, we often found ourselves using BCHydro's network of 25kW-100kW DCFCs for the low cost and convenient placement. You really don't need a 250kW unit if you plan to hang out in town for a while (though these often have a soft 40 minute session cap to prevent crowding). Isn't that what road trips are all about though?

The BC Hydro "slower" chargers (typically getting 35kw charge rate) are wonderful, generally close to great town centres, restaurants, etc. I tell my ICE friends that I voluntarily choose to stop for an hour to charge in BC towns and they can't even fathom it. Some of them will understand, maybe, when they eventually buy their own EV.

There are, surprisingly, no DCFCs in Banff proper, but there are a handful of L2s to take advantage of at the hotsprings and Cave and Basin NHS while you pass the time. Even with all of those L2 options around, we ended up having dinner and supercharging in Canmore to account for overnight power outages due to thuderstorms.

I don't think we should put L3 chargers in Banff tourist townsite itself. But, there's an intercept lot at the train station (which is in town, but 3-4 blocks from all the stuff) where they encourage people to park and walk, that would be a good spot for an L3. Otherwise, if someone is in Banff town for dinner, shopping, or the night, we should have enough L2s for them. The existing free L2s are nice, but often full (probably they shouldn't be free anymore). More Banff hotels should have L2s in their parking. Canmore has always been the energy and utility gateway to the park (used to be a coal mining town) and it's the perfect place for L3s. The Electrify Canada charger in Canmore is particularly nice as it's fast and right next to Rocket Pie and The Drunken Lobster.

But, there should be an L3 in Lake Louise Village, as the gateway to the Highway 93 (which has no electricity). And, this future L3 in Lake Louise Village should be a little more expensive than the ones in Canmore, Golden, or Jasper, so that most people won't use it.

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[music_cities]

I'm surprised and disappointed that there's still not DCFC along the Icefield Parkway.

There's no electricity wires along the parkway, so any DCFC would have to be diesel powered or some sort of very expensive solar/diesel/battery combination. I was also pushing for an L3 at Saskatchewan Crossing, but now I know that's not really a good idea.

Instead, we're pushing for a DCFC at the south end of the parkway, in Lake Louise Village. They've recently rebuilt the powerline from Banff to Lake Louise town, so there should be the possibility of a L3, even if it's a slightly lower rate or battery backed.

There are already DCFCs at the north end of the Parkway, in Jasper townsite. Jasper, Golden, and Canmore are the towns with the grid infrastructure to enable substantial L3s. For the most part, these three endpoints are enough for day visitors, and hopefully overnight visitors should be able to top up overnight at their hotel or campground at L2 speeds.

Day hiking trips on the Icefield Parkway was actually my test case with ABRP before deciding to take the leap to EV ownership! Turns out with the single L3 in Field, and the possibility of topping up over lunch or dinner at an L2 at Lake Louise townsite, I can do all my hiking trips. But, an L3 in Lake Louise would make it super easy, and I wouldn't have to plan lunch or dinner around charging in Field or topping up in Lake Louise at the L2s.

 

[Mjsabie]

Interesting that you say Tesla Superchargers are more expensive than other options. I find it usually considerably less

 

[ebeponyan]

Interesting that you say Tesla Superchargers are more expensive than other options. I find it usually considerably less

I can only speak to what I experienced. In Canmore, for example (all prices in CAD):
Tesla - $0.90/kWh
PetroCanada - $0.85/kWh*
ElectrifyCanada - $0.70/kWh
Flo - $0.50/kWh*

*rough estimate for time-based billing

 

[River Rat]

Sad state of affairs with Jasper burning and one firefighter being killed by a falling tree. In 2021 our soon to be past Prime Minister promised to buy water bombers and as usually Mr do nothing didn't. Lots of money spend on overseas wars and woke stuff. Canmore and Banff are ripe for the next disaster,

 

[ebeponyan]

Sad state of affairs with Jasper burning and one firefighter being killed by a falling tree. In 2021 our soon to be past Prime Minister promised to buy water bombers and as usually Mr do nothing didn't. Lots of money spend on overseas wars and woke stuff. Canmore and Banff are ripe for the next disaster,

I don't appreciate your using this thread and a tragedy within a tragedy as a springboard for your political agenda.

 

[River Rat]

And I don't like a American commenting on a Canadian problem. The whole situation is tragic and is extremely upsetting to Canadians.

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