Local official cut the ribbon officially welcoming a new ChargePoint DC fast charger at Zephyr Road and I-77 in Dobson last week. Cutting the ribbon are, from left, Surry Yadkin Electric Membership Cooperation director Alvin Reid; Evan Fitzgerald, innovation and business development analyst for NC’s Electric Cooperatives; Scott Smith with Circle K; County Manager Chris Knopf; Travis Bode, key accounts and energy services coordinator for the electric cooperation; Todd Tucker, president of the Surry County Economic Development Partnership; and County Chairman Larry Johnson.
Submitted photo
Two vehicles are shown connected to the electric charging station at Circle K at the intersection of Zephyr Road and I-77.
DOBSON — Local business and government leaders recently gathered near the Dobson exit of Interstate 77 for a ribbon cutting for the county’s first public electric car refueling point.
“There’s over a million electric cars already on the road in the United States,” Larry Johnson, chairman of the Surry County Board of Commissioners, told his fellow board members this week. Johnson and County Manager Chris Knopf took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony a week earlier.
This new charging station is good not just for travelers passing through the county, but also for local residents who have an interest in electric cars, Johnson said.
Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corp. and North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives partnered with the Circle K on Zephyr Road, just off the interstate, to install a ChargePoint DC fast charger at the same place gas engine vehicles do their refueling.
According to Surry-Yadkin EMC, this fast charger is the first of its kind for a 121-mile stretch of I-77 between Wytheville, Virginia, and Cornelius (at Lake Norman).
While the ribbon cutting was held this month, Surry-Yadkin EMC said the charger actually was installed in July with a soft opening to test. The new EV charger has seen heavy use since it was installed, especially on the weekends.
Typical electric chargers, such as the kind used in owners’ homes, use a 240-volt AC current source. This charger differs in that it uses a high-voltage DC current that can deliver a faster fill time for those on the go.
Circle K in Dobson is the first one in the state to host a DC fast charger, the electric cooperatives stated, and EV users can find the charger on their online maps when traveling and planning trips.
The speed at which the charger fills up a battery depends on the car.
The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf only have a capacity of 50kW per hour to charge, ChargePoint says on its website. So a 100kW source is only running at half-speed. The Leaf comes in a 40kW or 62kW size. Companies recommend keeping the battery between 20% and 80% for best battery life. Charging from 20-80% would take about 29 minutes on the small battery or about 45 minutes for the large battery.
A Tesla V3 claims five times the charging capacity, so it could utilize the station’s full capability and finish much faster.
Even 45 minutes is much faster than what an owner would see at home, where the car would be plugged in overnight for a full charge.
The location has the Surry Diner, Dairy Queen and Coach’s Neighborhood Grill within walking distance so that travelers can get a bite to eat while the vehicle fills.
“This is the first EV charger in the Coastal Carolina Business Unit,” said Jill Peterson, fuel director for Circle K. “In this market, we are evaluating what impact EV charging capacity may have on our local business and driving traffic to our site. Our expectation is that we will see lift over time as adoption rates increase, and we look forward to helping all our customers fill their needs, whether for fuel or electric charging.”
“This is something big to celebrate,” said Travis Bode, key accounts and energy services coordinator for the electric corporation. “We’re not only honored for ourselves and for Circle K, but for Surry County. It’s nice to know that here in Dobson, Surry County, a tenth of a mile from I-77, is the first one in North Carolina.”
Evan Fitzgerald, innovation and business development analyst with North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, noted that by the middle of 2021, there will be about 20 fast chargers throughout the state.
The Sheetz station on Rockford Street in Mount Airy also has electric chargers.
Last month, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality announced it had awarded $700,000 to eight of the electric cooperatives to install 10 more high-speed chargers across the state, servicing rural and suburban areas.
Those planning a trip across the state can check for available charging points at https://ift.tt/3cEwBpU.
The state’s electric cooperatives are growing a rural electric vehicle charging network and hope to reduce carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030 and want to be at net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the cooperatives say. This is part of a new Brighter Future initiative recently launched by the 26 members that aims to preserve the reliability and affordability of electricity while also achieving important sustainability goals.
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