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A Mass. town could be getting one of the largest ‘Supercharger’ stations in New England. Here’s what that means.
A Canton brewery is the perfect location for the new EV charging site, Tesla officials argue.
Tesla wants to install a new charging station in Canton, Mass. that, if approved, would be one of the largest in New England. The station could be a big deal for electric vehicle drivers in the area, since the difficulty of charging away from home is (or, was) a notorious downside to investing in an EV.
Canton’s planning board heard Tesla’s pitch on July 12 to install 20 new electric vehicle chargers in the parking lot at Trillium Brewing Company, conveniently located off I-93 and near I-95. The level 3 chargers, or “Superchargers” in the company’s parlance, promise an 80% battery refill in about 30 minutes, which could be a game-changer for road trippers passing through Greater Boston.
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At the meeting, Tesla project manager Carole Rocha said Tesla chose this site in anticipation of “massive demand” in the surrounding area in the near future. Massachusetts has some of the strongest incentives in the nation for purchasing an electric car, a June report found. By 2035, all new vehicles sold in the state must be electric. Tax credits that offset the cost of new EVs already seem to be working: 5% of new cars sold in Mass. in 2022 were electric, more than triple the proportion sold in 2019.
Tesla appears to be expanding its network of Superchargers accordingly: It’s reportedly installed 45,000 worldwide and counting, with 42 stations in Massachusetts and 93 in New England. And the stations themselves are being built with more individual chargers to accommodate growing demand.
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“This is a property that has enough space for us, so we go big when we can,” Rocha said of the Canton brewery location. Most Supercharger stations in New England have just eight or 12 chargers. “We’re opening up our network to non-Tesla drivers, so we’re gonna see an increase in demand with that as well,” she added.
Rocha was referencing Tesla’s recent move to open up some of its charging stations to non-Tesla electric vehicles. Just last week, Nissan joined the list of electric vehicle manufacturers — which already included Ford, GM, Volvo and Mercedes — adopting Tesla’s charging port so that they, too, can use the Superchargers. It’s unclear whether the Canton site would immediately be part of the pilot program.
The Canton Superchargers would be connected to the power grid, but a canopy of solar panels arranged above the chargers would offset that reliance. Tesla is “trying to get off the grid as much as possible,” Rocha explained.
The planning board seemed interested and open to the pitch from Rocha and engineer Matt Tilden, who was also present at the meeting representing Tesla. The board had questions about the station’s design and zoning compliance, and asked Rocha and Tilden to come back to Canton on Aug. 16 for another meeting to discuss specifics.
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One board member, a self-identified Tesla driver, expressed excitement at the prospect of grabbing a beer at Trillium while his car charged in the lot outside. Tesla enthusiasts chimed in on Twitter, celebrating the proposed new station as a win-win in terms of location and amenities.
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