Electrify America has opened DC chargers in Buck Meadows, California, meaning if you’re driving a battery-electric vehicle to Yosemite National Park, you now have a place to charge. These chargers were opened in cooperation with the Yosemite Westgate and Buck Meadows Lodge, which gives EV drivers a place to charge before entering the park.
“We know electric vehicle drivers are seeking ultrafast charging options near national parks,” said Anthony Lambkin, senior director of operations for Electrify America. “Yosemite Westgate & Buck Meadows Lodge is known for providing a comfortable travel stop for Yosemite visitors, and we’re excited to provide their guests and all electric vehicle drivers a convenient, fast charging option to make travel to the park more accessible.”
Yosemite Westgate and Buck Meadows Lodge are located 12 miles away from Yosemite National Park. The charging stations there will help facilitate EV travel in the area. Electrify America already has charging stations in Oakhurst, Bridgeport, and Bishop. This latest addition is part of its commitment to provide more DC chargers throughout the country to improve the infrastructure. Four charging stations will be installed two that can charge at peak rates of 150 kW and two more powerful 350 kW charges. Guests at the two hotels or those passing through the area will be able to charge conveniently on their way to or from Yosemite National Park. Electrify America’s 24-hour customer contact center will also be on hand to help assist in case of technical issues.
“As the last major road stop before entering Yosemite National Park, we attract guests from all over,” said Raj Patel, owner of Yosemite Westgate and Buck Meadows Lodge. “We look forward to welcoming EV drivers from near and far looking to make their next road trip to Yosemite National Park.”
EV drivers will be able to manage their charging plan via the Electrify America app. It was recently redesigned to make it easier to use including streamlined account creation, guidance throughout the charging process, contact-free payment, and a more intuitive display of information regarding the charging station you’re using. Electrify America currently has 640 charging stations across the United States with 2,700 individual DC chargers. It has rapidly expanded since it opened its first stations in 2018 and is now opening nearly four stations per week on average. Electrify America plans to have around 1,700 charging stations installed or under development with a total of 9,500 DC chargers in the U.S. alone.
Most of the new charging stations will utilize CCS standard connectors as Electrify America has hinted that it’s starting to phase out the CHAdeMO plug. According to its research, only 7 percent of vehicles use the CHAdeMO connectors and that includes Tesla vehicles using an adapter. In 2019, that number was 15 percent, meaning the latest findings reveal a drop of over 50 percent in terms of CHAdeMO usage. Currently, 20 percent of Electrify America chargers use a CHAdeMO connector. Electrify America said that it plans to monitor charging trends to determine the right mix of chargers. By 2025, however, it expects 90 percent of EVs to use the CCS combo standard as more manufacturers switch to it in the U.S. and Europe.
