On a road trip to California from Toronto in his Tesla Model S, Daniel Valadares got a taste of just how popular the luxury electric cars are on the West Coast. The whole way there — the tech consultant did the trip in 68 hours, swapping driving duties with three companions, including his mother — they didn't once have any hitches charging up the car's battery at any of the dozens of Tesla power stations along the way.
Tesla Model 3 to join ranks of affordable electric cars
The electric car and Canada's oil future
Electric cars take centre stage at Montreal Auto Show
But at the Tesla supercharger station in San Mateo, just south of San Francisco, all eight charging spots were taken when he arrived, so he had to wait. A popular charging station by a scenic ranch a few hours southeast often has waits of 30 or 40 minutes to get a quick refill, he said.The major consumer concern with early models of electric cars revolved around something called "range anxiety," the fear that the battery would run out before you could make it to your destination or a charging station. But now that charging stations abound — there are thousands publicly available across Canada for all makes of electric cars — an emerging worry is that electric cars are becoming so popular, there will be too much charging station congestion to plug in when you need to, particularly once Tesla's mass-market Model 3 arrives."I'm on the blogs and forums, and people are afraid of having that happen. I think this is going to be a problem in the future," Valadares said.
At Plugshare.com, a website that maps North American charging stations, people complain of just that.
"I'm waiting my turn for a quick charge," a commenter posted last April while in line at Montreal's only public quick-charging station.
"We're three people here at the same time! A recharge that should take 15 minutes will take 45 because we're waiting in line."He said peak times seem to be Friday and Sunday nights on the expressways between Montreal and Quebec City, when travellers are heading out on or coming back from a weekend trip.
"Our data have shown us what sites have had congestion and where we need to build more stations. We want to ensure there's no waiting line and will act in advance to prevent that."
Electric Circuit counted 619 charging stations as of last week, 30 of which are high-voltage quick-charging installations. The province is aiming for a total of 800, including 60 quick-charge, by year's end to meet the needs of its 8,500 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Ontario is doling out $20 million in grants to get private and public-sector partners to build more charging stations, with the aim of having quick-charging stations every 60 to 80 kilometres along major highways and potentially hundreds of regular-charge terminals in cities. Details are expected to be announced within days.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment