Canopies coming to many Electrify America stations

At the LA Auto Show, I interviewed Robert Barossa (Senior Director, Sales, Business Development and Marketing) from Electrify America. He shared that they are going to be adding solar canopies to many of their stations. We also discussed network expansion, site design and more.

I'd love to see the maps showing specific future locations and/or a solid way to send them feedback.

That's "nice" that they are thinking about canopies ... but it's not where I want them to invest. Before they throw money at adding canopies to the already dense coverage that some cities and states have for EV charging ... I'd MUCH rather see them fill in some of the charging holes that exist elsewhere. Some people would be happy to have ANY DC Fast Charging options available.

I tried to (somewhat generically) send feedback via their website but never heard back from them.

I've noticed a bit of an East/West bias in their thinking when it comes to planning locations. But in Michigan, I tend to think more about North/South travel ... e.g. Driving to Florida ... or Texas. The network has some holes in it for these routes and, in particular ... northern Indiana and northern Ohio.

EA have TWO stations in Northwestern Ohio ... so you'd think that was covered. EXCEPT those stations are located on the Ohio Turnpike at service plazas (East/West) and are not accessible to anyone passing through doing North/South travel. After you leave Detroit heading south, the first station for EA is in Dayton, OH ... that's 200 miles south of Detroit. A lot of cars would have difficulty going that far in the summer. There's no chance of making that in the winter.

Worse ... try heading toward Texas, the first station is a "coming soon" location in Indianapolis ... 263 miles away! That's even a problem in the summer.

Of course ... there are other DC Fast Charging stations other than Electrify America ... so maybe you could find something else, right? Well... if heading south on I-75 ... there is ONE DC "Fast" Charging station near Lima, OH ... rated at 50kW. Not exactly "fast" but it's better than nothing.

BUT WORSE... if headed south on I-69... there is ... NOTHING.



263 miles and not a single DC Charger available anywhere along the route (I pointed this out to EA but never heard back). The only way to tack that trip is to find a route that basically goes the long way around the charging holes ... rather than the more direct route that you'd take in an ICE car.

If ONLY EA hadn't put the DC Fast Chargers directly on the Ohio Turnpike Service Plazas (these are not accessible to North/South travelers) ... and instead just put them near a turnpike exit ... it would have greatly improved coverage. A small inconvenience to east/west travelers in exchange for helping to fulfill a necessity for north/south travelers.

I hope someone (anyone ... doesn't have to be just EA) will install a decent DC Fast Charger near Fort Wayne, IN.

Are the location where they are adding canopies the same as where they are adding batteries? Seems like the two would compliment each other since it appears there are solar panels involved.

I haven't seen your video yet....was there any talk about the mobile (temporary) L2 solar powered stations that EA has developed? Those have a canopy as well so I wonder if the programs are related?

SnBGC said:

Are the location where they are adding canopies the same as where they are adding batteries? Seems like the two would compliment each other since it appears there are solar panels involved.

I haven't seen your video yet....was there any talk about the mobile (temporary) L2 solar powered stations that EA has developed? Those have a canopy as well so I wonder if the programs are related?

Click to expand...

We didn't get into the mobile temp stations.

It sounds like he ones they had on display will be added to some existing stations and some will be for new sites. I think a lot of their site design (including canopies) will be determined by the site owner. If a Walmart, coffee shop, etc. doesn't want a big canopy, they won't get to put one in. I just hope they are big enough to be beneficial while charging -- provide cover from rain or shade from the sun. I think it will depend on how large they are and how they are oriented at the site.

this was a nice interview - good job @Mach-E VLOG

I liked it so much I won't make any snarky comments around the Upper Midwest not just being a charging hole but a hole in general or anything like that at all.

oh, wait

Not to mention that the one in Dayton (yes you, Huber Heights) SUCKS! Last trip we hit the one in Harpers Station, which is south further, and then hit the Lima location, which is in fact 27kw, not 50 (because it also doesn't work).

I'm hoping that the new charging curve allowing 42kw from 80 to 90, plus the added 3kw of battery capacity, gives me the capacity to go from Harpers Station to home, if I charge to 100%. If I get higher than 2.7miles per kw I could make it. I figure driving at 55 for part of the trip, along with limited use of heat, would do it.