The future of filling up comes to Santa Ana

Drivers in Santa Ana and beyond will get to experience the future of filling up when Rove opens to the public on Oct. 15.

The local developer of full-service electric vehicle charging centers is opening a new location at 1008 E. 17th St. It will be the first of its kind with a ReCharge by Gelson’s mini-market, a car wash and a 24-hour lounge.

“Our inspiration for the center was the old-style gas station where there was service, there was a small market and it was a local destination,” said Bill Reid, chief executive officer of Rove. “There is a lot of loyalty to that site and we were trying to develop a destination for EV drivers, their own space where we could develop a community.”

Reid went on to say there were three factors in making the decision to open Orange County’s first Rove in Santa Ana, including the density of EV drivers in the area

“Santa Ana is a very exciting area for EV ownership,” said Reid. “Secondly, 300,000 cars a day go by on the 5 Freeway, which is just two turns off the highway. Third, you have to be able to get to the power so we work with Southern California Edison to find the power.”

And power there is. The center hosts 40 direct-current fast chargers on its nearly 1-acre site, which includes 28 Tesla V4 Superchargers and 12 of ABB’s premium chargers. Drivers pay per kilowatt hour rates on all Rove chargers, with no mandatory memberships or service fees. Drivers can pay for a charge with tap-to-pay, by telephone or using the new Rove app, which is launching along with this first location opening.

Unlike the few charging stations that can be found in local public parking lots, Rove offers amenities drivers can utilize while they are waiting for their vehicle to charge. A 3,000-square-foot market by Gelson’s, for example, sells fresh food, beverages and grab-and-go prepared foods so drivers can charge up while their cars do the same.

“We like to think of it as a premium convince market,” said Ryan Adams, Gelson’s chief executive office. “What we are trying to be is the corner market. While it is leaning towards convenience and snacks, there are definitely pantry items as well.”

There is also freshly brewed coffee, a microwave and other amenities drivers might expect to find at a rest stop along with a more extensive inventory of grocery items that someone might pick up on the way home to cook dinner. A 24/7 lounge offers free Wi-Fi and seating to work or relax and a drive-through car wash, and complimentary vacuums help motorists keep their car clean.

The development of the center speaks to the future as EV ownership scales up.

“EV car sales are really increasing right now,” said Debs Schrimmer, a senior advisor for Urban & Community Charging, a new federal office that is a joint organization between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation. “At the end of August, electric vehicles made up over 10% of all new light-duty vehicle sales so there is a lot of growth up from July and up from last year.”

Drivers can shop for grab-and-go items as well as groceries at ReCharge by Gelson’s in Santa Ana.

(Courtesy of Rove)

The Urban & Community Charging office is focused on helping execute the Biden administration’s climate agenda and building a clean transportation future, which includes building out a national network of 500,000 electric charging vehicle ports across the country.

“As more people buy EVs it is so important to make those investments in the charging infrastructure so that people can have a really seamless, reliable and convenient charging experience,” Schrimmer.

Rove plans open 10 more centers in Southern California by 2026, with the next two locations planned for Costa Mesa and Torrance.

“You couldn’t have made any sense of doing something this big a couple of years ago,” said Reid, “but as EV ownership has increased so dramatically, it now makes sense to build centers like this.”

For more information on the grand opening, visit rovecharging.com.