Is a new Tesla charging station coming to the Walmart Supercenter? Here’s what we know?
Plans to bring a new Tesla electric vehicle charging station to property near New Bern’s Walmart Supercenter could soon enter the permitting phase, according to city officials.
The New Bern Development Services Departmental Review Committee reviewed site plans for a proposed Tesla charging station at 3005 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. during their Jan. 20 meeting.
The property is located on the eastern end of the Walmart Supercenter shopping complex beside Books-a-Million and the U.S. 70 overpass.
According to the project description, three Tesla Superchargers are planned at the site.
According to Tesla’s website, the Supercharging stations can recharge up to 200 miles in 15 minutes, with a maximum 250 kilowatts charging rate. Users simply plug in and their vehicles charge automatically. The Tesla app can also be used to view Supercharger stall availability and monitor a vehicle’s charge status.
According to Seth Laughlin, land and community development coordinator with New Bern Development Services, the committee has completed the site plan and received comments from city departments on any changes that may be required.
Laughlin said the committee has sent the comments back to Tesla. Once the map has received final approval the company can begin applying for building permits, Lauglin said.
“They’re going to be making map revisions and should be applying for building permits in the next month or so,” Laughlin explained. “My office gives them the final approval that allows them to apply for the permits.
While he couldn’t give a timeline on when construction might start, Laughlin said his feeling was that Tesla wanted to move forward with the project sooner rather than later.
“I’ll verify that all the revisions were addressed and approve them for permitting. The comments were so minimal that they should be cleared to move forward pretty quickly,” he said.
Contacted for comment, Joe Williams, development lead, southeast for Tesla, said the company is “unable to speak to the status of potential projects, so we wouldn’t have anything that we can share publicly at this time.”
The Tesla Supercharger project would add to the growing number of electric vehicle charging stations that have cropped up in New Bern over the last two years.
In Sept. 2021, eight Tesla superchargers were installed at Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q at 2507 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Tesla also operates three destination chargers in New Bern, at the Aerie Bed and Breakfast, Hanna House Bed and Breakfast and Carolina Colours Town Center. Destination chargers are usually installed at hotels or residential areas and can take up to 12 hours to fully recharge a vehicle.
The city of New Bern also operates two electric vehicle charging stations in the Red Bear parking lot downtown. The city-operated stations are only compatible with certain types of electric vehicles and are considered Level 3 adapters, suitable for fast-charging only.
Reporter Todd Wetherington can be reached by email at wwetherington@newbernsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Is a new Tesla charging station coming to the Walmart Supercenter?
