Tesla charging stations proposed at Wawa
UPPER GWYNEDD » A series of high-powered charging stations for Tesla electric vehicles could be coming to a busy intersection soon.
Township officials heard details Monday night about a proposal by Tesla to install eight charging stations at the Wawa fuel station and convenience store at Welsh Road and DeKalb Pike.
“We have about 2,000 of these stations all over the world, but not that many in Pennsylvania, so this is a really important dot on the map for us,” said Tesla installation manager Henry Misas.
“Our customers really want this. You can see in forums, there’s a lot of Tesla owners in the area, and Tesla owners that travel through the area. It’s just a very important point in our network,” he said.
Plans for the proposed charging stations have already been vetted and voted ahead by the township’s planning commission, and received approval with comments from the township’s engineer, Misas told the board. The company plans to convert what are currently eight parking spaces on the west side of the property, closest to DeKalb Pike and an adjacent stormwater basin, and install high-capacity charging stations for Tesla-brand electric vehicles.
“We work with the utility to provide power, and it’s essentially all electrical equipment. They put in a transformer, we put in switch gear, and cabinets that do the power conversion,” Misas said.
“From those pieces of equipment, the chargers plug into the car, and convert power from AC to DC (current). It’s all very safe, it’s been proven all over the world,” he said.
Tesla chargers contain safety systems that automatically prevent anyone from driving a car while charging, and billing happens automatically so no transactions are made at the charging station, Misas told the board. Installation of the charging stations can take about a month, and once they’re up and running, onboard systems inside Tesla vehicles can direct drivers to the station.
“When driving our car, the car automatically routes them to these stations. The car tells them where they are, the dots on a map you can see on a screen in the car, and you can navigate to them fairly easily,” he said.
Each charge of a Tesla vehicle takes roughly 20 minutes, Misas told the board, about enough time to enter the convenience store and make a purchase and/ or use a restroom. The stations would be available for public use and require no changes to the layout of the current convenience store and parking, just additional safety signage and striping to indicate where the chargers are, he said.
Township solicitor Lauren Gallagher led Misas through the terms required for conditional use approval from the board, since the Tesla chargers would be considered a second principal use on the property. In response to questions from Gallagher, Misas said the charging stations would be open to the public, sufficient parking is available elsewhere on the site even with the conversion of those spaces, and the signs and striping were meant to address pedestrian safety concerns raised by the engineer.
Commissioner Denise Hull asked if the applicant had considered putting the chargers on the other side of the store, on the west side of the property, and Kessler said doing so would likely cause conflicts with underground stormwater storage basins.
Gallagher asked if the lot was “comprised of sufficient area for the operation of the requested uses,” and Misas said he did not have specific square footage numbers, “but from where we stand, it looks like there’s ample area in this lot for the two uses combined.” Hull asked if those specific figures were necessary before a formal board approval, and Gallagher said that would be up to the board.
“I’m confident it’s a big enough area there that it won’t be a problem, but we do like to just double-check that, and follow all of our codes,” she said.
No public comments were made during the live online meeting, but Assistant Township Manager Megan Weaver read one submitted by resident Timothy Lucas of Park Road.
“His comment was that he’s in full support of Tesla’s application for an eight-stall super-charger at the Wawa on Route 63. Electric cars are the future, and he’s glad to see Upper Gwynedd Township participating, and he asked, ‘Can we get superchargers at Parkside Place?’” Weaver read.
Hull said the board would “take that into consideration,” and Misas replied with a “no comment” and a grin.
The board then voted unanimously to continue the public hearing pending the additional data, and resume it when the board next meets at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Upper Gwynedd.org.