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Ashland Tesla charger appealed By Morgan Rothborne Updated: Aug 30, 2022 05:03 PM A A The owner of a local solar company has asked the city of Ashland to rethink a proposed Tesla charging station poised to be built on Clover Lane. “I think it’s worthy of doing a little more investigation and introspection as a city,” said Jeff Sharpe, CEO and founder of Stracker Solar. After learning of the Community Development Department’s Aug. 10 decision to approve the project, Sharpe filed a formal appeal laying out his concerns. “We own our own electric grid here (in Ashland), we’re unique in that,” he said. “We take care of our own distribution system — the electric lines that come from the substations to all the homes and businesses in our city need to be upgraded and taken care of, and the more load you put on them the quicker they degrade and need to be improved.” Sharpe said the Tesla charging station will put a greater load on the city’s grid than it is prepared for. He also expressed concern the city Electric Department will need to perform upgrades to accommodate the charging station, an upgrade that will be paid for only in half by the developer, Sharpe said. Tom McBartlett, director of electric utilities for the city of Ashland, said the upgrades are not extensive. One wire on the feed line for the charger station will need an upgrade, he said. The wire is about 200 feet long and was too small years ago, McBartlett said. His engineers believe the wire would be sufficient, excluding extreme hot or cold weathe, but to be proactive, the city is going to upgrade the wire before the charging station is built. “I decided to split it with (the developer) because we’re going to do a couple of other projects on that same line that are upgrades for us but have nothing to do with them,” he said. While they’re working in the area, city crews will also improve an old underground line feeding Ashland Hills Hotel, an item already on the city’s to-do list he said. “I’ve been talking to Tesla about this project since last December. We’ve modeled it, we’ve looked at it from every angle, and we have plenty of capacity in our system,” he said. Sharpe acknowledged that the Ashland Electric Department has done its due diligence, but he argues the development is short-sighted. “I argue that this approval is premature as its true impact on future city priorities has not been addressed. ... We believe it is in the best interest of the city not to approve such a high electric load facility without at least exploring the future constraints that might be put on existing local businesses,” Sharpe wrote in his appeal. Clover Lane is a poor location, Sharpe wrote. The street is already crowded and presents a difficult situation for trucks turning around. In addition, the charging station will serve only Tesla drivers, Sharpe wrote. “It will benefit only Tesla and none of our local car dealerships who are expanding their electrical vehicle offerings nor their clients. Also, the facility will be of no benefit to the city and its growing fleet of electric vehicles, none of which are Tesla to my knowledge,” Sharpe wrote. According to the Ashland Community Development Department, 90% of public comments received about the charging station were in favor — although some did express concern about Clover Lane’s width. The Ashland Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Sharpe’s appeal Sept. 13 in City Council chambers. According to Brandon Goldman, Ashland Community Development Department senior planner, the commission will hear the applicant’s proposal for the charger station, a staff report, public comments and Sharpe’s appeal, then make a decision. On Sept. 7, materials for the hearing will be available at www.ashland.or.us/Page.asp?NavID=18175 . Reach Mail Tribune reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected] or 541-776-4487. Follow her on Twitter @MRothborne.