Introduction
This is a site review from my trip to cover the lake shore route from the middle of the mitten northward.
Business/Location Name | Shoreline Park - Tawas City |
Address | 501 W Lake St #341, Tawas City, MI 48763 |
Network | ChargePoint |
Station Details | 2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125kW linked |
Cost | $0.52/kWh |
Towards the end of a busy summer, I took the time to plan and take a long drive to stop and review many new sites. This time I decided to cover the lake shore route around the northern half of the lower peninsula. From home I left with 100% battery, some 163 miles later I arrived at this first stop with 105 miles range estimated remaining.
(This station opened in February 2022).
Accessibility
This station is in the parking lot for the park directly connected to the US-23 route that follows the coast. The two ChargePoint chargers are easy to spot as you approach the park. These are not marked as dedicated spots and could be blocked if the park is busy. However, since the parking is “nose in”, there’s no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.
Amenities
There’s not much to speak of regarding amenities at this stop
Dining options include: Boathouse Beer Co., Rooftop Bar, Tony’s Tacos (Seasonal)
Shopping options include: None
Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air): None
Concentration
This is a baseline 2 charger site for ChargePoint. This station is the pull/back into configuration, easy charging with Elektra’s front port location or when backing in with Voltron to charge. This site has room to expand, but for now as a destination charge this is a good solution. The current space available could add 2 more chargers, and possibly more in other parts of the parking lot.
Location
Overall, I do think this is a great location for a charging stop. The 120 miles from downtown Detroit means that at peak travel times, this site would be about 2 hours into a trip up north. On the return trip, it makes for a good location to increase the charge to ensure you have enough power to get home. As I mentioned above, the gas station is directly off the highway and the chargers are easy to spot, yet still a quick walk to the restrooms and other facilities.
50 Mile Radius:
150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:
Speed
These ChargePoint shared power chargers represent a decent destination charging solution. Elektra will not pull more than 62.5 kW a single station will output, unless the battery is low and the temperature is in the correct range. Voltron does a better job of taking the rated power. The 125A and 200A current limits based on the operating mode will have most EVs charging slower than drivers might expect. I looked, but did not find the transformer at this site, so I cannot tell exactly how much site power is available.
Summary
I arrived at this stop with 39% battery and 105 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter). I had averaged 3.4 miles/kW on the drive. This efficiency is impressive given the mostly high-speed highway driving to this stop. With temperatures in the mid 60’s I didn’t need much HVAC. Backing into the left station, which was station #2, I plugged in and started the session by tapping my ChargePoint RFID card. Seeing that the other station was clearly highlighted as unavailable, I was concerned about what kind of power I would get. However, this was not the case as the power quickly ramped to almost 120kW indicating that all the power modules at this station were working.
What I paid for this stop:
Total Cost: $6.61
Total kWh: 12.71kWh
Time: 8 Minutes
Average Charge Speed: 95.32 kW (Calculated)
Cost per kWh: $0.52
Questions or Comments:
dantheevman@gmail.com
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