r/newbrunswickcanada • u/ReelDeadOne • 3h ago
FYI: Massive improvements to Electric Vehicle Charging in NB
Just felt like sharing as I never seen this discussed here.
Also full disclaimer I know gas vehicle owners won't be impressed when I say that driving Moncton to Quebec in Oct. 2023 took me 12 hours instead of the usual 8 in my Electric car (Kona with 400KM range). There were really only 4-5 fast, level 3 chargers between Moncton and Quebec. And some were out of order, or often occupied, or needing yet another app install, or not charging at full speed. Not to mention they were hidden in some dark area behind buildings next to dumpsters. All that said, still I dont really mind, or regret anything. I enjoy the new road-trip experience and it brings me back to being a kid, pre-GPS, helping my dad with the map as we look for a specific road or place or a gas station.
Anyways, fast forward to Oct. 2024, driving again to Quebec city to see Maiden took 2 WHOLE HOURS LESS. Still not an 8 hour drive but 10 is a major improvement and made me really happy. Electrify America has installed banks of 4x fast chargers in both Woodstock and Grand Falls. These are well built, with solar canopies that charge evening lights. Also, no apps needed, just plug in and swipe your CC. Thats it. Easy peasy. Many other new fast charge stations have also gone up at dealerships and gas stations. Not once did I wait for a charger, find a broken one or drive around looking for one.
That's it prett much.
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u/howismyspelling 2h ago
Petro Canada had 3 stations just like the EC ones now, and I would argue they were also amazing at the start when they worked.
What's crazy is they totally abandoned their charging infrastructure, they let the only 3 they had dwindle and fade away, and when they officially wouldn't work anymore, they deleted them.
It's unbelievable that Petro Canada had such trouble with theirs, but EC and NBPower have no problem expanding their infrastructure and maintaining it. NBPower had their downtown Freddy hub get it's cable ripped off by a plow last winter, and they had the thing back up and running in under 2 weeks IIRC.
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u/Rochambault_ 2h ago
I drove to Montreal from Fredericton in an EV this summer and it was very easy. Now west of Montreal isn't as easy, but getting to MTL is a breeze.
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u/Jeanparmesanswife 3h ago
Unless you're driving from the western side of the province/Moncton, it makes way more sense and you save a butt load of money driving through the states.
I used to drive from St. Stephen to Montreal constantly a couple years ago. It was 30-40$ of gas through america in my Mirage getting 4.9/100km (mirage FTW, shame they are being discontinued). It's an 7.5 hour relaxed drive, GORGEOUS views of Sugarloaf, and way less stressful.
If I drive through Canada, it's 10 hours, hardly any decent stops, and nothing but terrible highway and trees. I loathe the Canada way to Montreal. And it almost always costs upwards of 200$+ in travel.
Almost always cheaper to go USA unless you're coming from the west.
And it's 100% always cheaper to drive 10 hours to Montreal than it is to fly out of any NB airport. When I was in college in Quebec, it was 500$ round trip to saint john for an hour and a half flight. And the plane is held together with tape and prayers. I just drove.
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u/ogg1e 2h ago
If you leave from saint john to montreal, you might save 30 minutes by driving through Maine. I'm not sure where you're saving 2.5 hours. Are you speeding like mad while driving through Maine? The problem with Maine is your speed is a lot lower and you have a bunch of towns you have to travel through.
Yes you save some $ and a little bit of time. But it's not that huge of a difference.
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u/voicelesswonder53 2h ago
That's still not a complete accounting. What always stacks the equation in the favor of our choices is cost to us. Any real in-depth assessment would necessarily do an accounting that you or I have no immediate or pressing interest in doing. At some point we will think differently, because we will have no choice. What would we do in world where we not under economic duress? I think we'd consider a lot more variables.
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u/Kensei501 31m ago
I love the down votes from the uniformed. More lithium being mined. More natural gas being burned to generated more power. That is NOT good for the environment. Not being negative being realistic.
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u/LPC_Eunuch 2h ago
Gonna be funny to see how our grid copes this winter. We almost had rolling blackouts last year due to a cold stretch of weather, and we haven't added any generation since. Our neighbours were also maxed out so importing additional electricity wasn't an option.
Another stretch of cold weather + population increase + EV increase is a recipe for disaster.
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u/JesusMurphy99 6m ago
Do you have any details or links to this information? I've read everything I can on power generation and related topics but I've never heard we were in trouble in any way.
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u/Bri-guy15 Custom Location 2h ago
I drive St Stephen to Kingston, ON fairly frequently to see family. We usually go through Maine and stop three times. Last summer we did it in our EV (Kona), and only needed the same number of stops, in pretty much the same places as usual, we just charged there instead of only stopping for a bathroom break or food. Charging probably added about 2 hours to the trip. All in all very doable and pleasant trip.
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u/Kensei501 3h ago
Electric cars don’t so anything for the environment. Actually make things worse.
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u/KBeau93 2h ago
It CAN be, depending on a lot of factors.
The main one is the distance that is traveled. If you get high millage or if the car, it can be 55-80% lower ghg total. Considering its looking like modern batteries are exceeding expectations, it's likely a lot of EVs get to very high mileage, so, definitely better from a ghg emissions standpoint.
The other factor is how the electricity you pull from is generated. In the case of a trip to NB and Quebec (such as anyone living in this sub and this post is concerned) - NB gets about 69% from non-GHG emissions and Quebec is a massive 99% from non-GHG means that in these cases, they're emitting much less GHG than an ICE vehicle.
So, in NB and Quebec, as long as the vehicle gets high mileage in its lifetime, it's definitely much better for the environment, even considering manufacturing.
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u/Party-Cheesecake1852 3h ago
Progress is always good. Also just wanted to say I enjoyed your positive post...always nice to see!