WEED, Calif. – After four years of discussion and planning, the City of Weed is in the process of installing 16 brand new electric vehicle charging stations.
A few years ago, the city contacted a local business owner who had a lot on North Weed Blvd that was mostly being used for storage. Because the lot was right off of both I-5 and Highway 97, it was the perfect place for a charging hub. The city purchased the lot for $50,000 and negotiated a 10 year lease with Tesla for the charging ports.
The city agreed to provide the land, while Tesla provides the chargers.
“So we looked at this as more of an economical tool for us to get folks to come into town,” said Weed City Manager, Tim Rundel. “Get their cars charged at a really nice lot, and then be able to walk from there, go to gas stations, restaurants, retail, and kind of explore Weed a little bit.”
Demo and preparation of the lot began in August and now the area is ready to have chargers installed. But, the city does still have to wait a little bit longer because Tesla is currently experiencing a shortage of the V4 superchargers. The V4 chargers are the newest models and can go from a zero to 80% charge in just 30 minutes and are compatible with all EV cars.
Rundle says he hopes that tesla can get those delivered and installed by next month.
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