Village of Pinecrest Authorizes Installation of Level 3 DC Fast Charger in SE Florida

BREAKING NEWS: Village of Pinecrest in SE Florida Becomes First Public Entity to Approve Level 3 DC Fast Charging Station in Florida

For the past five months, I've assisted the Village of Pinecrest, in Southeast Florida, with adopting policies and infrastructure that support the widespread adoption of Electric Vehicles. I'm thrilled to report that at last night's Village Council Meeting, the city approved the installation of a Nissan Quick Charger at Pinecrest Gardens, a 20-acre Botanical Garden, 500+ seat Amphitheater and Park. Pinecrest Gardens is located at 11000 S Red Rd, Miami, FL 33156. Google Maps Link

The Village was moving forward with plans to install a Level 2 charging station at the Gardens, but I connected them with a rep from Nissan who administers a program where they graciously donate Nissan Quick Chargers, valued at over $17k MSRP. Plans call for the station being installed asap with a January 2014 opening date.

Yes, I know this may not help us Tesla owners until the CHAdeMO adapter for the Model S is released. According to the Tesla website this will happen this winter. When the adapter is released, this charging station will provide an excellent (and free) venue for those who wish to quick charge while they enjoy a stroll around the beautiful gardens. Maybe someone will even attend one of their awesome events from a longer distance now that they plan to have the station installed. Check the event listings here: Village of Pinecrest, Florida : Pinecrest Gardens

The Village is lucky to have an excellent steward of conservation policies in Mayor Cindy Lerner. Without her support and that of the Gardens Director, Village Council and Village Manager none of this would have been possible. I couldn't be prouder to live in a city that really gets it when it comes to EV friendly policies!

Here is video from the Village Council Meeting on 12/10/2013. That's me speaking in the pink shirt.
[video]http://pinecrest.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?clip_id=301&view_id=2&embed=1&player_width=640&player_height=480&entrytime=404&stoptime=751&auto_start=1[/video]

Here are the details of the charging station that will be installed: Nissan Quick Charger | Plug In America

When it's ready for opening, even though we can't use it yet, it may be a good idea to arrange a meetup. Thoughts?

FYI, the Village already has two Nissan Leafs that they use for Building Inspectors.

It charges at 44kW and up to 120 Amps. Not sure what that works out to in mph but it's faster than the High Power Wall Charger, which charges at 75/80 Amps (62 mph) depending on config/software version of your Model S.

Here is the spec sheet for the DC Fast Charger: http://evsolutions.avinc.com/uploads/products/Nissan%20DC%20FC%20sales%20sheet_092812_r3_v1.pdf

Chas F said:

I think that works out to a charging speed of about 136 mph.

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So basically, the Miami area will have a public and free station that charges nearly half as fast as a Supercharger. I'd say that's a BFD!

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BlkCld said:

Sounds great. Just the $1000 for an adapter for one spot seems a bit much.
What would really be sweet is if the could somehow have a tesla adapter at the station. Chained to it or some other secure method. That sure would beat each of us having to buy an adapter. Especially if it may be a one or two time usage. At least until more become prevalent.
If you are local then that's a different story but the folks traveling to use it might be the only time to need the Chademo adapter. In that case it seems like a waste. At least for now.
Just let everyone know Trader Joes opened in Pinecrest and you can get a free charge they will all be there lol

Click to expand...

Some good points here. However, the station will be unprotected from the elements so I'm not sure a shared adapter may work if it too is exposed to elements.

The Trader Joes that opened in October attracted people from as far away as the West Coast of Florida. Yet another reason for an EV owner to visit beautiful Pinecrest, FL. Just charge up first before you head over to TJ's so the cold stuff doesn't melt

RandyS,

The Village already had budgeted all relevant costs for the installation of one ClipperCreek CS-100's, which would have required significant electrical contract work. Thankfully the electrical contractor's revised estimate was not a limiting factor in the DC Fast Charger installation...or so I'm told.

I spoke with Pinecrest Gardens Director yesterday and it looks like they'll have the charger completed by late January. I wonder if the charger will come online before the adapter is released.

Going to check out the installation of the charger today. From my last conversation with the Gardens Director, it will come online within the next week.

Great news folks! The first publicly installed/operated DC Fast Charging Station in Florida is now operational. I know we don't have a CHAdeMO adapter for the Model S yet, but when we do, this will be a huge deal for those folks travelling down south to the Florida Keys or those who want to spend an hour or so charging up at a location where there's much to do. All the other DC Fast stations in Florida are at Nissan dealerships, btw.

The station was installed a few days ago at Pinecrest Gardens. Here is the link to the Plugshare entry: http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/40201

Stay tuned for official ribbon cutting ceremony details with media (hopefully) and proclamation by the Mayor of Pinecrest.

Here's a pic:

Madison,

I sent you an email. Feel free to give me a call at the number I included.

All the best!

Tesla and EV owners in the South Florida area are cordially invited to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the first publicly owned, free quick charge station in Florida! The event is scheduled for 5pm on Tuesday February 4th at Pinecrest Gardens. The Mayor of Pinecrest and Village Manager will charge one of the Village's Nissan Leaf during the event. Please spread the word among the EV community and try to make it if you can!!!

Pinecrest Gardens station on Plugshare: http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/40201
Address: 11000 Red Road Pinecrest, Florida 33156

Press Release:
Media Contact: Michelle Hammontree Garcia
Communications Manager

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

First free and publicly accessible electric car fast-charging station in South Florida set for first official use

Pinecrest, Fla. – The first free and publicly accessible electric car fast-charging station in South Florida has been installed in the Pinecrest Gardens’ parking area. The station can charge an electric car in a fraction of the time it takes to charge with a regular charging station. For example, a Nissan LEAF can be charged from zero to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes. Other vehicles may take more or less time to achieve a similar charge.

Mayor Cindy Lerner and Village Manager Yocelyn Galiano Gomez will drive one of the Village’s Nissan LEAFs to Pinecrest Gardens for the first official use of the fast-charging station at 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 4. Members of the media are invited to attend.

The fast-charging station is located in the northeast area of the parking lot. Pinecrest Gardens is located at 11000 Red Road.

“We have a significant focus on sustainability, improving access to energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Mayor Lerner, who added that her next car will be an electric car.

Pinecrest Gardens attracts over 150,000 visitors each year and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2011, making it historically significant on a local, state and national platform.

“Because of its popularity and the Village’s commitment to conservation and sustainability, Pinecrest Gardens is the ideal location for an electric car fast-charging station,” said Galiano. “One can visit the Gardens, take a class in the community center or go to the library while charging the car.”

The fast charger is capable of charging at 44kW, compared to regular charging which runs at approximately 6kW. The fast-charger can be used by drivers of Nissan, Mitsubishi and Tesla electric cars. Tesla electric car owners need an adapter in order to charge.

Pinecrest Gardens is a premier venue for the arts, education and environmental conservation and preservation. On any given day one can catch an arts performance, tour the 14 acres of native forested wetland, tropical hardwood hammock and native cypress slough hammock or take a class in horticulture, archeology and botany.

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Article from the Miami Herald that covered the Pinecrest Gardens Quick Charge Ribbon Cutting.
Pinecrest unveils free charging station for electric cars - Pinecrest - MiamiHerald.com

Hopefully I represented Tesla and EV's well.

Telemundo did a segment on EV's and the Quick Charge Station at Pinecrest Gardens this week. It's En Espanol...for our Spanish speaking EV advocates

Kudos to all those involved.