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Tesla in Queensland
- Thread starter LGGD
- Start date
Some information on the new DC rapid chargers at UQ St Lucia & UQ Gatton.
These locations also have Tesla HPWCs fitted but for DC rapid charging (about 240kph typical) you will need the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter.
UQ sparks electric vehicle revolution
Queensland's first solar-powered electric car chargers available and free for public use - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
PlugShare page for St Lucia:
University of Queensland - P1 Car Park
University of Queensland - P1 Car Park | St Lucia, QLD | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
PlugShare page for Gatton:
University of Queensland - Veterinary Medical Centre
University of Queensland - Veterinary Medical Centre | Lawes, QLD | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
These locations also have Tesla HPWCs fitted but for DC rapid charging (about 240kph typical) you will need the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter.
UQ sparks electric vehicle revolution
Queensland's first solar-powered electric car chargers available and free for public use - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
PlugShare page for St Lucia:
University of Queensland - P1 Car Park
University of Queensland - P1 Car Park | St Lucia, QLD | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
PlugShare page for Gatton:
University of Queensland - Veterinary Medical Centre
University of Queensland - Veterinary Medical Centre | Lawes, QLD | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
raynewman
Active Member
Note that the Gatton CHAdeMO doesn't work for Tesla yet - next week perhaps. Will advise.
garyjac
Member
raynewman
Active Member
garyjac
Member
Used the St Lucia charger today... A-OK. The Tesla HPWC is only 6kW though. CHADeMo is 50kW as usual.
Chuq
Active Member
With the recent 2017 supercharger plans announced, and nothing north of Brisbane, I thought I'd check to see what would be required to extend SCs up the coast. Of course this is a long term plan - it may only grow at the rate of one or two a year.
First I checked distances between Brisbane and the four larger cities. With the addition of Maryborough, it turns out the distances are perfect to host every second SC, with a further SC in between each gap:
Brisbane (260 km) Maryborough (383 km) Rockhampton (336 km) Mackay (386 km) Townsville (347 km) Cairns
So tackling each one in turn....
Brisbane to Maryborough (260 km)
This is a slightly shorter gap, but probably a higher traffic section of the entire route, so an extra stop is justified here. There are numerous options here. I chose Eumundi since it was close to halfway (118km / 142km) and was at the turn off to go to Noosa, but could be anywhere between Palmview (near Caloundra) and Gympie.
Maryborough to Rockhampton (383 km)
This one is a bit trickier. There aren't many reasonably large towns near the halfway mark. The closest is Miriam Vale, (213 km / 170 km). It has a cafe and a hotel (pub) but don't know if there are enough facilities.
There are two other options that stand out: Gin Gin (115 km / 269 km) or Calliope (276 km / 115 km).
Or a fourth option - Gin Gin *and* Calliope! It would result in some pretty small gaps - it's 115 km to Gin Gin, 163 km to Calliope, then 115 km to Rockhampton. Perhaps by the time the SC network reaches this far that sort of density won't be too much of an overbuild.
Rockhampton to Mackay (336 km) (Almost the exact same situation as the last gap)
The closest (only?) halfway mark town is St Lawrence, which is about 7 km off the highway (186 km / 166 km). But facilities wise, it is even more dire than Miriam Vale.
The two "bigger" towns that stand out: Marlborough (107 km / 233 km) or Carmila (248 km / 108 km). Facilities in the towns themselves are limited, but both have 24/7, full service Puma service stations. Not ideal, but may be necessary.
And of course the fourth option of both larger towns - Marlborough *and* Carmila would result in gaps of 107 km to Marlborough, 141 to Carmila and then 108 km to Mackay. Same issues as before.
Combined Maryborough to Mackay note: If both Calliope and Marlborough were selected, it would be 221 km between them - Rockhampton itself could be skipped
Mackay to Townsville (386 km)
Easy - Bowen is perfectly located and has enough facilities to be the stop here. (192 km / 200 km)
Townsville to Cairns (347 km)
Either Cardwell (165 km / 182 km) or Tully (208 km / 141 km) are big enough towns to be a midway stop on this route.
Combined Mackay to Cairns note: One fewer site could be used by using only Ayr and Ingham on this route (Mackay to Ayr, 301km, Ayr to Ingham 202km, Ingham to Cairns 235km) However the 301km gap may be a bit too far. By choosing sites on the edges of these towns the gap could be reduced to 286 km.
So there you have it - a bare minimum plan looking like:
(0km) Brisbane
(+260km) to Maryborough
(+276km) to Calliope
(+221km) to Marlborough
(+233km) to Mackay
(+286km) to Home Hill (Ayr)
(+210km) to Ingham
(+235km) to Cairns
Or a more thorough plan:
(0km) Brisbane
(+118km) to Eumundi
(+142km) to Maryborough
(+115km) to Gin Gin
(+163km) to Calliope
(+221km) to Marlborough
(+141km) to Carmila
(+110km) to Mackay
(+187km) to Bowen
(+200km) to Townsville
(+165km) to Cardwell
(+182km) to Cairns
First I checked distances between Brisbane and the four larger cities. With the addition of Maryborough, it turns out the distances are perfect to host every second SC, with a further SC in between each gap:
Brisbane (260 km) Maryborough (383 km) Rockhampton (336 km) Mackay (386 km) Townsville (347 km) Cairns
So tackling each one in turn....
Brisbane to Maryborough (260 km)
This is a slightly shorter gap, but probably a higher traffic section of the entire route, so an extra stop is justified here. There are numerous options here. I chose Eumundi since it was close to halfway (118km / 142km) and was at the turn off to go to Noosa, but could be anywhere between Palmview (near Caloundra) and Gympie.
Maryborough to Rockhampton (383 km)
This one is a bit trickier. There aren't many reasonably large towns near the halfway mark. The closest is Miriam Vale, (213 km / 170 km). It has a cafe and a hotel (pub) but don't know if there are enough facilities.
There are two other options that stand out: Gin Gin (115 km / 269 km) or Calliope (276 km / 115 km).
Or a fourth option - Gin Gin *and* Calliope! It would result in some pretty small gaps - it's 115 km to Gin Gin, 163 km to Calliope, then 115 km to Rockhampton. Perhaps by the time the SC network reaches this far that sort of density won't be too much of an overbuild.
Rockhampton to Mackay (336 km) (Almost the exact same situation as the last gap)
The closest (only?) halfway mark town is St Lawrence, which is about 7 km off the highway (186 km / 166 km). But facilities wise, it is even more dire than Miriam Vale.
The two "bigger" towns that stand out: Marlborough (107 km / 233 km) or Carmila (248 km / 108 km). Facilities in the towns themselves are limited, but both have 24/7, full service Puma service stations. Not ideal, but may be necessary.
And of course the fourth option of both larger towns - Marlborough *and* Carmila would result in gaps of 107 km to Marlborough, 141 to Carmila and then 108 km to Mackay. Same issues as before.
Combined Maryborough to Mackay note: If both Calliope and Marlborough were selected, it would be 221 km between them - Rockhampton itself could be skipped
Mackay to Townsville (386 km)
Easy - Bowen is perfectly located and has enough facilities to be the stop here. (192 km / 200 km)
Townsville to Cairns (347 km)
Either Cardwell (165 km / 182 km) or Tully (208 km / 141 km) are big enough towns to be a midway stop on this route.
Combined Mackay to Cairns note: One fewer site could be used by using only Ayr and Ingham on this route (Mackay to Ayr, 301km, Ayr to Ingham 202km, Ingham to Cairns 235km) However the 301km gap may be a bit too far. By choosing sites on the edges of these towns the gap could be reduced to 286 km.
So there you have it - a bare minimum plan looking like:
(0km) Brisbane
(+260km) to Maryborough
(+276km) to Calliope
(+221km) to Marlborough
(+233km) to Mackay
(+286km) to Home Hill (Ayr)
(+210km) to Ingham
(+235km) to Cairns
Or a more thorough plan:
(0km) Brisbane
(+118km) to Eumundi
(+142km) to Maryborough
(+115km) to Gin Gin
(+163km) to Calliope
(+221km) to Marlborough
(+141km) to Carmila
(+110km) to Mackay
(+187km) to Bowen
(+200km) to Townsville
(+165km) to Cardwell
(+182km) to Cairns
WhiteStar
Member
Awesome Chuq I like your work!!! In the new year we'll be driving up to South Mission Beach via Gin Gin, Rocky, Sarina, Mackay, Bowen & Townsville. Some Superchargers would be very welcome.
Nice work Chug, Tesla should give you a job planning the SC locations!
It would be great if Tesla could install one of the 2 bay Sleds as per your 'more thorough plan' and monitor
their usage for 12 months or so and then work out where they need more or less. The cost of installing a sled
would be only a fraction of a 6 bay SC and they could probably have them all installed in a couple of months, well once Chug
has worked out exact locations.
It would be great if Tesla could install one of the 2 bay Sleds as per your 'more thorough plan' and monitor
their usage for 12 months or so and then work out where they need more or less. The cost of installing a sled
would be only a fraction of a 6 bay SC and they could probably have them all installed in a couple of months, well once Chug
has worked out exact locations.
RichardMcN
Member
Cool @WhiteStar - Don't forget Frosty Mango as you near your destination. Heidi loves to charge Teslas from her big solar array, and the mango is yum !
.
WhiteStar
Member
*KT*
Member
Actually for an SC i would choose miriam vale over gin gin. Done the trip dozens of times in an ice and MV is the logical stop. Also the crab sandwiches are awesome and the park and public restrooms are nearby too.
In an EV without SC access at the moment, gin gin showgrounds is clearly the winner.
Really however i just dont see tesla putting in the chargers for years. Look how long it took to get the syd bne route and that was logical with heavier traffic than the bne cairns route.
Tritium or energex are most likely to do it first with paid charging.
In an EV without SC access at the moment, gin gin showgrounds is clearly the winner.
Really however i just dont see tesla putting in the chargers for years. Look how long it took to get the syd bne route and that was logical with heavier traffic than the bne cairns route.
Tritium or energex are most likely to do it first with paid charging.
Awesome to know it's not too far away - makes my eastern seaboard drive in the roadster seem light light years ago. - was cool to visit the abig Bananna after all these years in a Tesla again!
Attachments
WhiteStar
Member
WhiteStar
Member
And another option, 630 km north of Brisbane,
Korte's Resort, 11 km from the centre of Rockhampton on the road north to the Whitsundays. Brand new, very high quality everything. Bar, restaurant, room service, massive pool, super friendly & the fastest destination charging I've seen (108 kph). I think this is a great spot for a Supercharger.
Chuq
Active Member
Great suggestions @WhiteStar ! It is definitely worthwhile chatting to management while you are charging and talk about the benefits of hosting a supercharger. Tesla have said that if a site came to *them* and the host site, lease, power supply, etc. issues were already sorted, they would look very seriously at it, even if it wasn't on their immediate roadmap.
Local knowledge is very handy for identifying these locations... while I've driven between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast a few times, and also from the Gold Coast to Rockhampton before, it was many years ago and searching for EV charging sites wasn't at the front of my mind at the time
Out of interest (in response to @*KT* 's post) I look up Miriam Vale's population.. 422! Imagine the 350kW superchargers going in here... eight Tesla's charging at once would put a serious spike in the town's usage!
Local knowledge is very handy for identifying these locations... while I've driven between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast a few times, and also from the Gold Coast to Rockhampton before, it was many years ago and searching for EV charging sites wasn't at the front of my mind at the time
Out of interest (in response to @*KT* 's post) I look up Miriam Vale's population.. 422! Imagine the 350kW superchargers going in here... eight Tesla's charging at once would put a serious spike in the town's usage!
Looking at Chuq's plan and I have been doing some similar thinking for an Adelaide to Sydney route via Balranald and Mildura. I was thinking that for the "road less travelled" a Supercharger every 350-400 km in larger towns might suffice if supplemented by fast destination chargers in smaller centers. A proportion of traffic would be shorter commuters (e.g. Adelaide to Mildura) which could be done with single full charge. For those on longer trips a destination charger would add another 100km/hr range or so and communities wishing to attract passing Tesla drivers to stop and spend could band together to install a couple of fast destination chargers. In this way Tesla could link Brisbane to Cairns with only the 6 SC sites originally proposed by Chuq and let towns and businesses fill in the gaps with destination chargers.
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