Ribbon-Cutting For
New DC Fast Chargers
in Mesquite, Nevada

Mark D Larsen
January 29, 2020


Birth of Triplets
(Click to enlarge)


Because I periodically participate in EV’ents sponsored by the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association, its co-founder, Stan Hanel, invited me to the ribbon-cutting for new DC Fast Chargers in Mesquite, Nevada. As you know, I can’t plug in my Tesla Model 3 at such stations (unless I bought an expensive $450 adapter), but I am nonetheless thrilled to see that public charging is expanding for all other types of electric vehicles. I registered to attend the EV’ent with the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce, and that morning set my navigation’s destination to the location at a new Eagle’s Landing Flying J station at exit 118 on the I-15 interstate. Below are photos and commentary on the ribbon-cutting.


NOTE: You can click on any of the following photos to enlarge them.

I arrived at the Flying J station just as the sun was rising, and the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce had already set up tables to greet attendees to the EV'ent.

They asked those who drove there in EVs to park to one side of the lot, and I pulled in next to the Chevy Bolt that Stan Hanel had arrived in.

Before long, more EVs showed up: left-to-right are a Model X, another blue Model 3 next to mine, the Chevy bolt, and then a BMW i3.

Here are the three DC Fast Chargers, each one equipped with both CHAdeMO and CCS plugs to accommodate various makes of EVs.

A new model Nissan LEAF was plugged into one of stations using the CHAdeMO cable and plug, happily slurping up electrons.

The displays on the stations were bright and easy to read. They provide a maximum of 50 kW of power, which is much faster than 240V Level 2 charging —though not nearly as fast as Tesla’s Superchargers.

Looking closer at the label with instructions, I could see that the Fast Chargers were supplied by Greenlots, and EV owners could initiate a charging session by using either an RFID card or the company’s dedicated app on a smartphone.

The Mesquite Chamber of Commerce had set up several rows of chairs for attendees. I was surprised to find that one of them was even reserved with my name on it, since I had registered to attend.

The crowd grew larger as more people showed up, and chatted in groups while enjoying the complimentary coffee and pastries.

Finally, the ceremony began, and several speakers gave talks on the importance of rolling out the Electric Corridor throughout the western states. Here is Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, thanking all those who have been working on the project and describing the future plans to expand the Corridor to other areas of the state.

After the speeches, they unveiled the corridor sign for the Flying J station. Here is Governor Sisolak and the owner of the Eagle’s Landing franchise, Mark Yardley, posing for photos.

It was now time to cut the ribbon for the fast chargers, and Governor Sisolak did the honors.

Many years ago, when I owned my LEAF, I prepared a map for the Utah Clean Cities Coalition to suggest feasible charging sites to enable EV owners to drive between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

Well… here is a current map of DC Fast Chargers that are now operational along that route. The locations are almost identical to what I proposed!


The only differences between my map and the current one are: (1) instead of a station in Nephi, there are now two in Santaquin and Scipio; and (2) the site I suggested at the Moapa Travel Plaza in Nevada is a bit farther north in the town of Moapa. The good news is that the entire EV Corridor between California and Salt Lake City is now up-and-running, and can accommodate all electric vehicles currently on the market. Those in my area who hesitate buying an EV can no longer claim that there is insufficient public charging for road trips along I-15. Time to abandon our fossil foolishness, folks!