Largest EV Charging Station In World Powered By Diesel-Powered Generators

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Sun Oct 1, 2023, 09:10 AM - Edit history (2)

I originally posted this from a phone. I've made some edits since then, including the addition of links to the article's sources.

Largest EV Charging Station In World Powered By Diesel-Powered Generators

The Harris Ranch Tesla Supercharger station is an impressive beast. With 98 charging bays, the facility in Coalinga, California, is the largest charging station in the world. And it's all powered by diesel.

Kevin Killough
September 30, 2023



Aerial photo of supercharger Tesla station at the Harris Ranch in California. (Shutterstock)

The Harris Ranch Tesla Supercharger station is an impressive beast. With 98 charging bays, the facility in Coalinga, California, is the largest charging station in the world. … In 2017, Tesla CEO said that all Superchargers in the automaker’s network were being converted to solar. … “Over time, almost all will disconnect from the electricity grid,” Musk posted on X, formally known as Twitter.

Superchargers charge vehicles up to the 80% sweet spot in as little as 20 minutes, but to provide that kind of power for nearly 100 bays takes something solar can’t provide — diesel generators.

Investigative journalist Edward Niedermeyer discovered that the station was powered by diesel generators hidden behind a Shell station. Reporters at SF Gate tried to find out how much of the station's electricity was from the generators, but couldn’t get a response from Tesla.

The station isn’t connected to any dedicated solar farms, which means that absent the diesel generators, the station is powered by California’s grid. … According to the U.S. Energy and Information Administration, in June 2023, natural gas supplied nearly 5,000 megawatt hours of electricity in California, whereas non-hydroelectric renewables supplied about 7,250 megawatt hours.

{snip}

[bucolic_frolic]

1. are we saving any carbon then? Isn't this just 6 in 1, half a dozen in the other?/nt

[bullimiami]

6. That's a real question. Is there an efficiency or cabin gain to be had there or no?

[hlthe2b]

2. Good heavens. Looks like an ideal site for major solar...?

[2naSalit]

3. It is...

And wind. Harris Ranch is out in the middle of the San Joaquin valley where there's plenty of sun and wind. It's a massive cattle ranch.

[hunter]

4. Of course it is...

[Think. Again.]

5. And the build-out begins...

...good to see they're preparing for the increase in EVs, and also good to see that the grid that will supply these stations eventually is already supplied by almost one and a half times more non-CO2 power!

Unfortunately, this local Wyoming newspaper didn't gather any information on how long the temporary diesel power will be hooked up OR whether a dedicated power source is planned for that station, but the article seemed to have a different objective in mind than gathering information for it's readers.

It's such a small, rightwing paper, I give credit to the OP for searching so hard to find this particular anti-transition article!

[Caribbeans]

7. SF GATE article

Unfortunately, this local Wyoming newspaper didn't gather any information on how long the temporary diesel power will be hooked up OR whether a dedicated power source is planned for that station, but the article seemed to have a different objective in mind than gathering information for it's readers.

Here's the quoted San Francisco Gate article, the problem is that Tesla closed their "public relations" office and won't respond to literally anyone for any reason anymore.

Tesla’s dirty little secret on California's I-5

SF GATE | Sep 3, 2023

Tesla’s claims hardly ‘transparent or credible’

Niedermeyer told SFGATE in an email Friday that while he doesn’t have current information about the specifics of the Harris Ranch Supercharger, “what I can say is that Tesla’s claims about Superchargers and fleet carbon emissions are hardly more transparent or credible than when I investigated in 2015.”

The journalist, who wrote a in-depth investigation of Tesla, pointed to Tesla’s latest impact report, in which the company criticized current measurements of greenhouse gas emissions for failing to factor in “the impact of emissions that are avoided through the sale of zero-emission or clean-tech products.”

“But when you get all the way to the actual explanation for their emission reduction claims (page 204) you get only the vaguest explanation, based on a generous baseline comparison of 24 mpg,” Niedermeyer continued, noting that the national average is dragged down by trucks. Tesla’s own Cybertruck has yet to hit the market after it was announced in 2019 for a planned 2021 release, though the company’s Texas factory did complete its first Cybertruck this summer.
https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/tesla-interstate-5-supercharger-power-plant-18343119.php

It's such a small, rightwing paper, I give credit to the OP for searching so hard to find this particular anti-transition article!

Truth is truth, even when it comes from those one doesn't like. And one truth is that Elon Musk is a bald-faced liar.

[Think. Again.]

8. Well...

...at least the SF Gate didn't lie in their headline like the article in the OP from the "Cowboy State Daily" https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/09/30/largest-ev-charging-station-in-the-world-uses-diesel-powered-generators/ and try to call it the largest EV charging station in the world.

World's Largest EV Charging Station With 258 Chargers Powered by Solar
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127169124

[orthoclad]

9. Three things:

1. "cowboy state daily"?

2. Corporations deceive and connive to make money? Musk? Shocked, I tell you.

3. In the transitional process of building out infrastructure, some temorary use of less-desirable sources can be justified for economy of scale. For instance, I supported using existing stocks of fossil hydrogen to build out the distribution infrastructure, necessary for jump-starting the widespread use of H. That carries the risk of baking in fossil H distribution; it would require social, not market, supervision.

[hunter]

10. The energy "transition" is nothing more than gas industry greenwash. It's a lie.

Last edited Mon Oct 2, 2023, 12:32 PM - Edit history (1)

The gas companies know damned well that renewable energy is not an existential threat to them, and that hydrogen is really just a crappy fuel made from natural gas.

This Tesla recharging station is an example of Musk's stupid Move Fast and Break Things grift. He built this recharging station on the cheap for publicity purposes. It's possible he never intended to install overhead solar panels or an adequate connection to the California electric grid. The cost of the diesel generators and diesel fuel probably comes out of Tesla's promotional budget, damn the local air quality which is pretty horrible around Harris Ranch anyways.

I'm curious if there even plans to build an adequate connection to the electric grid and a parking lot solar system. I suspect Tesla won't until the state leans on them for the long term use of "temporary" diesel generators.

The rules for the kinds of power plants you might find powering a carnival at the county fair are quite different than the rules governing the installation of permanent power plants.

On edit: The article cited is a rat's midden of reporting. The "biggest in the world" charging station is clearly attached to California's electric grid and thus not burning diesel fuel in normal operation, but without actually visiting the site I'm not certain the connection is capable of charging 98 vehicles all at once at the expected level 3 charging levels. The next time I'm out that way I'll check it out.

The original Battery-Swap / Charging station was powered by a diesel generator behind the Shell Station and I'm optimistic that this much larger charging station also has provisions for emergency diesel power, because why wouldn't they?

An electric car powered from California's electric grid is going to have a smaller carbon footprint than a similar gasoline powered car, especially when the sun is shining.

There's also a hydrogen refill station at Harris Ranch. In a rational world that is never going to amount to anything because using hydrogen as a fuel is a bad idea for a lot of physical reasons, mostly having to do with the thermodynamics, problems that no technological breakthroughs can ever solve.

In the larger scheme of things, car culture itself is unsustainable on a planet with a human population of 8 billion no matter how the cars are powered.

Here's a link where you can explore the actual sources of electricity in California:

http://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.html