Tennessee Town and City Newspaper featured Shorepower host site partner Crossville Eco Travel Plaza.  

“Don Demko had been owner of the travel plaza, located off exit 320 on Interstate 40, for more than two years before deciding to convert it to an “Eco” Travel Plaza. He knew there had to be a better way to operate that considered public health, safety, and environmental protection issues, as well as help decrease our dependence on foreign oil.

Some semi-trailer trucks have heating and cooling appliances already and only need electrification equipment. Thirty-two of the Shorepower units were installed at the facility for this service. According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, one hour of idling requires approximately 1 gallon of diesel fuel. A truck that idles for six hours per day, five days per week will waste about $6,240 of diesel fuel per year with diesel costing $4 per gallon. A fleet of 100 trucks would cost around $624,000 per year and that doesn’t even consider the engine maintenance and decreased engine life due to excessive idling.”

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The Truck Stop Electrification (TSE) industry is moving quickly to build infrastructure – a movement that will help drivers save thousands of dollars per year while saving millions of gallons of fuel and associated emissions. The good news is there is a range of options for drivers that wish to plug in -

• off-board TSE that gives drivers immediate HVAC and entertainment without any special equipment.
• on-board TSE, which treats the sleeper cab much like an RV, providing simple plug-in power and access to cable television.

The trucking industry is adapting to both forms of TSE and technology providers are making improvements with each generation.

Off-board (single-system) TSE Providers: IdleAir, AireDock, Cabaire and EnviroDock

The technology: Provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) contained in a structure above (gantry) or on a pedestal beside the truck parking spaces. A hose from the HVAC system is connected to the truck window and, in most cases, to a computer touch screen that enables payment. To accommodate the HVAC hose, an inexpensive window template must be installed in the truck.  The off-board providers now offer leading-edge technologies like filters and UV lights that make their HVAC duct w0rk safer and cleaner than ever.

On-board (dual-system) TSE Providers: Shorepower

The technology: requires both onboard and offboard equipment; e.g. a heavy-duty extension cord and an on-board appliance or electric HVAC system. Shorepower has improved on its power pedestals to give more convenient plug options and payment options in addition to an improved back-office reporting system.

Recent articles suggest that Shorepower does not support other TSE technologies; however, that is not the case.  We believe there is a place for all idle-reduction technologies including auxiliary power units (APUs).  We have worked closely with off-board TSE providers in Arizona (2 sites with IdleAir) and Tennessee (AireDock). Furthermore, we are investigating two additional sites to partner with IdleAir for both off-board and on-board TSE at each location.

Wide-scale adoption for Truck Stop Electrification will be propelled by more infrastructure, education, idle-reduction laws and the price of diesel fuel. Shorepower favors all forms of TSE as the long-term solution to idle reduction and reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Fleet Maintenance magazine writes about Shorepower’s current and long term plan for Truck Stop Electrification. The magazine is written for supervisory personnel who repair and maintain fleets and reaches a total circulation of more than 61,750. Subscribers are from For Hire, Private, Government, Utility and Bus fleets.

“Getting the first installation of Truck Stop Electrification (TSE) under STEP, a U.S. Department of Energy program, at a truck stop in Baker City, Ore., is a big step, but it’s just a first step. Beyond Baker City, Shorepower Technologies, which along with Cascade Sierra Solutions is now administering the STEP program, is planning 49 more truck stops to outfit with power pedestals.

Nor will that be the end of the journey. TSE will really make its mark, says Alan Bates, Shorepower Technologies’ Vice President of Marketing, when truckers can count on having the service available wherever they pull in for the night.

For that reason Shorepower’s goal is to build a network of TSE-equipped truck stops along the nation’s major highway-freight corridors.”

The Omaha (Nebraska) World Herald wrote an article titled “Lincoln truck stop plugging into charging stations” about the grand opening of Shoemaker’s Travel Center in Lincoln and their incorporation of Shorepower Truck Stop Electrification.

“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.”

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Pending final contract approval, Shorepower has issued an intent to award a construction contract to Memphis, Tennessee-based Standard Electric Company, Inc., for the construction of Truck Stop Electrification hardware at the Super Truck and Travel Plaza, Cookeville, TN. This is for Solicitation #95425709-GR1134371-A.

Baker Truck Corral, just off Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon, is the first of 50 truck stops around the country to be outfitted by Shorepower Technologies in conjunction with Cascade Sierra Solutions through a program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. A formal grand opening took place on August 12, 2011 at Baker Truck Corral in Baker City, Oregon.

A number of media outlets picked up the story including layover.com, Fleet Maintenance,  NBC Boise- KTVB, Baker City Herald, Convenience Store News, Heavy Duty Trucking, Green Big Truck.