Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.A few weeks from now, truckers will be able to pull up to Shoemaker's Travel Center and plug in rather than idling their engines for hours to keep in-cab amenities running.
The Lincoln business at Exit 395 on Interstate 80 is one of a small but growing number of truck stops that are becoming electrified — installing charging stations where truckers can get electric power for heat, lighting or refrigerators. And it's the first in the region to sign on for a U.S. Energy Department-funded effort to bring the option to 50 travel centers around the country.
Supporters of the truck stop electrification movement say the switch to electric power reduces pollution, helps trucking companies save money and keeps drivers in line with some states' anti-idling laws. Plugging in instead of running the engine on one truck saves 1,800 gallons of diesel fuel and reduces emissions by 21 tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to a report from the California Energy Commission.
Many new trucks are designed to be electric-ready, and any truck can be retrofitted (at a cost of anywhere from $100 to $10,000, depending on the truck and the type of power setup).
Alan Bates, the executive vice president of Shorepower Technologies, an Oregon company that installs the charging stations at truck stops, said more drivers and companies are getting interested in electrification — about 70 already have committed to using new stations going in across the U.S.
The Energy Department funding includes about $10 million to help companies get their trucks plug-in ready.
In some cases, trucks can use off-board equipment, where a hose from a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system connects through the window. The system Shorepower is putting in uses onboard and offboard equipment. Trucks pull up to a kiosk, plug into an electrical outlet and pay $1 per hour for power.
For now, putting all of the pieces together is a work in progress. Of the approximately 5,000 truck stops in the country, fewer than 60 are equipped for electrification. Most of the current sites are on the coasts; until the Lincoln travel center is ready in a few weeks, the closest stops for people in the Midlands are in East St. Louis, Ill., and Boonville, Mo.
"It's a chicken and egg thing: You have to have reasons for (trucking companies) to want to retrofit or buy trucks from the factory with plug-in capability," Bates said. "We're making the chicken or making the egg, I don't know which. But we're putting infrastructure in the ground now that will make it compelling to use."
Sean McNally, a spokesman for the American Trucking Associations, said his group doesn't track the number of companies using the plug-in option but is supportive of the effort. "It's a great way to reduce idling, which is a huge drain on fuel costs and a large contributor to emissions of greenhouse gases."
But he said some companies may be hesitant to retrofit their trucks because of the small number of stops where they can use the option.
Bates said his company's long-term goal is to get between 1,000 and 2,000 truck stops equipped for electrification. For now, the plan is to get the 50 sites along major routes like I-80 ready with about 2,000 stalls by the end of next year.
Most of those locations haven't been announced, but Bates said there will be others on I-80, and most stops will likely be 300 to 500 miles apart.
At least 24 stalls will be at Shoemaker's, which moved into a new location across from its former home about two years ago.
Dave Shoemaker, who owns the travel center with his wife, Karen, said participating in the electrification project — which comes at no cost to truck stop owners — is part of a bigger effort to make the place as green as possible.
Though the Shoemakers didn't apply for certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program, the couple followed the guidelines when building the new location. The truck stop has low-flow toilets and energy-efficient lighting fixtures and kitchen fans, among other features.
Bates said he expects more companies to get on board once the 50 locations are ready. About 10 have stations installed to date, most of them in the Pacific Northwest.
"We have to get 50 out there up and operational for it to be really exciting," he said.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1543, erin.golden@owh.com
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