Flying J – Grand Ledge

Introduction

This is a site review from my trip to cover the lake shore route from the middle of the mitten northward and back home. Site reviews completed on August 20, 2024.

Business/Location Name	Flying J – Grand Ledge
Address	7800 W Grand River Hwy, Grand Ledge, MI 48837
Network	EVgo
Station Details	Two 350kW Dual Output Power Sharing Delta Units
Cost	$0.45/kWh

I visited the Grand Ledge Flying J station as part of my travels to continue to review the ongoing expansion of EVgo sites.  This was the twelfth of day 2 and final stop on this trip.  This is not part of the Detroit area EVgo build out, but is part of the nationwide partnership between EVgo, GM and Pilot/Flying J.  (This station opened in June 2024). 

Accessibility

This site is near the I-96/I-69 interchange at exit 90 on I-96.  The site is 0.4 miles from the I-96 exits.  The units themselves are in the southeast corner of the parking lot, farthest from the building and easy to spot from the road.  The spots are wide, covered and designed for charging with a trailer attached.

Amenities

Dining options: iHOP

Shopping options: None

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air): Flying J

Concentration

This is the new standard 2 station layout for EVgo at the Pilot/Flying J partner locations.  With just 2 stations this site can still support up to 4 vehicles charging simultaneously. The 350kW dual charging units support pull through parking.  Depending on charge port location you can pick which side is best to pull up towards.  There is a benefit that just 2 units can provide high-power charging to 4 vehicles at once, but the risk is that one station going down could impact 2 stalls of charging.

Location

This site is on the northwest side of Lansing in the middle of the lower peninsula.  This site can support travel to the west along I-96 (Grand Rapids), to the east along either I-69 (Port Huron) or I-96 (Detroit), to the south along I-69 (Fort Wayne), or north along US-127 (Mount Pleasant). The Walmart with the Lansing EA stations is just 5 miles away providing plenty of fast charging options in this area.

50 Mile Loop:

150/200 Mile Estimated Coverage:

Speed

EVgo is supporting maximum CCS charging speeds.  The high-power Delta units are capable of both max 1000V and can do 500A.  These newer Pilot/Flying J sites are NEVI compliant supporting up to 350kW (and at least 150kW) on all 4 ports.  The problem here is that the transformer is only rated at 500kVA, which means the site can’t do full power throughput, but will have to slow charging per car as the total site power draw approaches the site power limit of the transformer.  The sites are well equipped to handle both road trip traffic. These Delta charging units here should be available to serve the electric car community for years to come as the infrastructure build out continues.

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 41% battery and 107 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 3.3 miles/kWh on the drive.  During my visit with all the fast charging I had done on this day I was able to achieve peak speed at first but quickly Voltron slowed the charge a little to manage the temperature of the battery pack.  In the time between this visit and publishing this report, Pilot/Flying J has continued to adjust their pricing, and the site is now $0.45/kWh, still a reasonable price.  Note the power cabinets are listed as made in Taiwan, so these units would not meet the made in America requirements for a NEVI site.  The power cabinets are listed as made in September 2022, and the dispensers made in May 2023, but not installed until June 2024.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $11.88

Total kWh: 32.022 kWh

Time: 11 minutes

Average Charge Speed: 175 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.35 + 6% sales tax was added

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
33	A	6	6	21

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com