Tesla V3 Superchargers coming to Canada

Only a few months ago Tesla unveiled its first V3 Supercharger capable of charging some Tesla Model 3s at the rate of 250kW allowing a gain of 75 miles in just five minutes of charging.

Tesla is making progress in a concentrated buildout of the V3 Superchargers

The first concentrated buildout of the superchargers will be in Canada along the Trans-Canada highway with 26 of the 46 chargers along the cross Canada route being the V3 Superchargers. A recent article notes: "With the latest expansion of the Supercharger network, Tesla is starting to finally build its long-awaited Trans-Canada Supercharger route to enable coast-to-coast travel in the great white north. Tesla’s Supercharger network in Canada has been limited to enable travel between a few large metropolitan areas. Unlike in the US, Canadian Tesla owners couldn’t solely rely on Tesla’s own fast-charging network to go across the country."

However, even with these added chargers there will still be gaps with only one V3 in all of Saskatchewan. In Ontario north of Lake Superior along the trans-Canada there will be no V3 chargers except one at Thunder Bay it appears.

Tesla says it plans to launch the V3 chargers in Europe and Asia in the fourth quarter of this year.

Fast-charging network has grown enormously

Since the first Supercharger station was introduced back in 2012 Tesla has built up one of the largest networks of EV chargers in the world. There are 14,081 superchargers across 1,604 stations in 36 different countries.

Since that first fast charger made its debut in 2011 there have been more than 30 million charging sessions on them. There is an average of 64,000 sessions a day or 2.25 GWh of energy a day. The average charging session is about 35kWh even though battery capacities range from 50kWh to 100kWh. Many customers charge only enough to get them to where they are going but do not fully charge the battery. No doubt some also fully charge while the battery still had plenty of charge.

ChargePoint

In comparison to Tesla, ChargePoint one of the most widely distributed global charging networks has more than 1,476 fast chargers throughout the world and 100,700 chargers altogether. The company based in California says it has powered more than 62,879,120 charging sessions in the 12 years since it was founded.

However, Charge Point has mostly slower level 2 chargers so that over the 12 years it has delivered a total of just 563,125MWh worth of energy whereas the Tesla Superchargers can match that output in about 250 days. The average Chargepoint charging session is close to only 9kWh.

The solar panel plans for the Superchargers

Tesla planned to outfit its Superchargers with solar panels from Solar City which it later acquired. It planned to generate more electricity from the solar panels than the Superchargers used. However, only about six of the stations were hooked up to solar panels in 2017. Tesla has yet to see a fully off-grid Supercharger setup. So far there is nothing like what CEO Elon Musk had originally conceived.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Security company guarding Ecuador's London Embassy alleged to have spied on Julian Assange

(Sept. 29) The private Spanish security company UC Global SL hired to protect the Ecuadorian London embassy while Julian Assange Wikileaks founder sought refuge there is alleged to have spied on him for the US Central Intelligence Agency.

 

The report

According to a recent article: "A report in Spanish newspaper El Pais said the company, UC Global SL, allegedly handed over audio and video to the CIA of meetings Assange held with his lawyers.The company is being investigated over the claims by Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, said the report."

Assange has himself filed a criminal complaint in which he accuses the company of violating his privacy and also the secrecy of his client-attorney privileges. Given that the company is alleged to have provided audio and video of Assange's meeting with his lawyers to the CIA this creates even more doubts about whether Assange will ever be able to receive a fair trial should he ever be extradited to the US.

El Pais newpaper said that UC Global SL did not respond to requests for comments on its claims.

Background

While on bail in 2012 while facing extradition hearings to be sent to Sweden to answer questions on sex charges Assange sought and was granted refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. He feared that his extradition to Sweden was a step on the way to being extradited to the US. However, this April Assange was forcibly removed from the embassy and turned over to UK authorities.

In June this year the US formally requested his extradition from the UK on 18 charges including the unauthorized disclosure of national defense information. What really irritates the US is that Assange revealed some of the misdeeds of the US military including the famous video of a Baghdad attack by Apache helicopters that killed among others 2 Reuters personnel. Reuters at the time reported: "Classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff, was released on Monday by a group that promotes leaking to fight government and corporate corruption."

The US formally requested his extradition in June on 18 charges, including computer misuse and the unauthorised disclosure of national defence information. Assange is accused also of working with whistle-blower and former US army intelligence operative Chelsea Manning.

Assange at present

Assange was jailed for 50 weeks in Belmarsh prison in London for violating his bail conditions. Although he was due to be released next he will remain in custody right up until the US extradition hearing that does not take place until February of next year.

An article at the end of May reports: "On the eighth of April, shortly before London police forcibly carried WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorian embassy, a doctor named Sondra S Crosby wrote a letter to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights requesting that the office look into Assange’s case. Today, following a scorching rebuke of multiple governments by UN Special Rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer, mass media outlets around the world are reporting that Julian Assange has been found to be the victim of brutal psychological torture." In spite of all this and Assange's continuing ill health he remains in jail. Instead of joining in with those who are demanding his release and criticizing his treatment many in the mainstream press continue with an attempt to smear his character. Whatever Assange's faults he deserves praise not further punishment for his revelations about misdeeds by the US military.

Previously published in the Digital Journal