Truck electricity services expand

Truck electrification services are spreading, thanks to government grants, stricter idling laws and trucker demand. Each company offers some electrification service, such as heating and cooling, but what and how they offer services varies and can include Internet and cable.

IdleAire this summer began reopening its network of truck stop facilities under new ownership.

IDLEAIRE. Tennessee-based IdleAire, under new ownership after its bankruptcy, expects to launch up to 30 locations offering electrification and other services at truck stops this summer, said CEO Mike Fielden. IdleAire formerly had at least 131 locations in 34 states.

The first new locations were planned to open in early July, starting with Salt Lake City’s Sapp Bros. and some Pilot Travel Centers. Other sites are expected to open in North Dakota, Minnesota, Tennessee, Missouri, California and Georgia. Truck stop owners have expressed interest in five locations in Texas, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.

CASCADE SIERRA SOLUTIONS and SHOREPOWER TECHNOLOGIES. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $22.2 million to Oregon’s Cascade Sierra Solutions, a nonprofit organization advancing truck stop electrification. CSS partnered with New York’s ShorePower Technologies to install Shorepower Truck Electrified Parking Space systems at 50 truck stops.

The grant will finance services for about 25 to 30 trucks per location at truck stops and rest areas that are privately owned or operated over two years, said Shorepower’s Alan Bates.

Most of the DOE-funded locations will be along Interstates 5, 80, 10, 20 and 95 and more concentrated in California because of its strict idling laws. Some of these spots will offer plug-ins for reefers, as well.