Alaska’s very first Tesla Supercharger was shown off and presented to the public in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Whistle Hill on Saturday. Tesla vehicle owners from all across the state were commissioned to traverse to Soldotna for this momentous occasion. Dr. Henry Krull led the ground-breaking project in conjunction with Tesla and Homer Electric Association.
Dr. Krull tells KSRM:
“I think this is instrumental in showing what is happening with electric vehicles in Alaska. You know, Alaska is built on oil and gas and this is a little bit of a departure from what built Alaska to what it is today.”
He explains the difference between these new Tesla Superchargers versus the other chargers he has on site:
“The other chargers are slower chargers. They charge at a rate of about 30 miles per hour of charging. The superchargers charge at a rate of about 250 miles per hour of charging. So, a huge difference in the speed and really the idea is to make electric vehicles more user friendly.”
Dr. Krull speaks on how to pay to charge up your electric vehicle and how it compares to gasoline prices:
“It depends on a lot of factors and it’s hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison with gas and electric, but to give you an example, I talked to a Tesla owner from Anchorage that drove down and they basically started off with a full charge and then they came here and plugged in and it cost them $15 to get back to a full charge. Generally, it’s about half of what you pay at the pump. For the Teslas, it’s simply a manner of plugging in and the plug communicates with your car and communicates with Tesla. It all happens, you just plug in and go about your business and unplug and don’t worry about it until you get the monthly bill.”
The new Tesla Supercharger will offer a faster charge for electric vehicles and expand the ability of electric car drivers to explore the Kenai Peninsula and Alaska. Dr. Krull hopes that by offering this new technology he can help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and encourage the use of electric vehicles.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony also was a dedication to Derek Leichliter of Legacy Electric who had a passion for electric vehicles. He passed in November 2021. A plaque was dedicated in his honor on Saturday as well.
