New Corridor of EV Charging Stations Planned for L.A. to Las Vegas

Greenlane recently announced its first commercial EV charging corridor with more than 100 chargers that will stretch from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and eventually toward San Pedro, California and into Southern Nevada.

The I-15 charging network, to include charging depots in Colton, Barstow, and Baker along a 280-mile route, will include modern amenities designed to increase the comfort of drivers and resilience for high uptime, which can help fleets move freight more efficiently.

The charging corridor aims to accelerate the rollout of carbon-neutral fleet and commercial transportation. Over the next year, further locations will be added along the corridor, extending beyond Southern Nevada and to San Pedro, which is near two major ports and within the city limits of Los Angeles.

In coming years, Greenlane aims to develop a nationwide network of commercial charging infrastructure locations across the U.S. The charging sites will also serve battery-electric passenger car and light-duty fleet customers and are designed to provide hydrogen refueling for commercial vehicles.

The Colton flagship site, located at the intersection of Interstates 10 and 215, will include 60 charging stations for light-, medium- and heavy-duty zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs). At full build the Colton site will offer 400 kW direct current fast chargers (DCFC) to speed charging of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). The 200 kW DCFC charging options onsite will enable long-duration and overnight charging for heavy-duty tractors, medium-duty ZEVs, and school buses.

Greenlane will also deploy multiple passenger car charging stalls to support light-duty and passenger vehicles.

Greenlane is targeting a spring groundbreaking on the Colton flagship site, aiming to open in late 2024. The Colton hub will offer multiple ways for heavy-, medium- and light-duty ZEV drivers to charge their vehicles.

“After considering various factors, such as truck telematics data, frequent freight routes and customer deployment strategy, the Greenlane team selected these three optimal locations for our first commercial charging corridor to accelerate the transition to zero emissions,” said Patrick Macdonald-King, CEO of Greenlane, in a March 26 news release. “The launch of this corridor not only marks a critical step in addressing the urgent need for publicly available, nationwide electric charging for commercial vehicles but will also serve as a model for the EV charging hubs of the future.”

Later project phases will support both long-duration and overnight charging lanes for tractor-trailer combinations. The Greenlane site in Colton will also accommodate the megawatt charging system (MCS) when commercially available.

"By using a predictive modeling tool to simulate truck traffic and energy flow at the site, we can determine how many chargers are necessary to meet the regional demand based on vehicle characteristics and departure and arrival times for vehicles hauling freight along this corridor," Macdonald-King said. "Our findings indicated that placing the three stations approximately 60 to 90 miles apart would maximize uptime for day-cab drivers by enabling shorter charging sessions at each stop and ultimately allowing customers to move freight confidently without any limitations."

Designed to upgrade and enhance the current rest stop experience, each Greenlane site will have wide pull-through lanes, allowing drivers to enter and exit the property quickly and easily. While waiting for vehicles to charge, drivers can access modern facilities, with restrooms and other amenities, including food and beverage options.

Greenlane is a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America LLC, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, and BlackRock (through a fund managed by its climate infrastructure business).

Originally posted on Automotive Fleet