More Truck Stops Move to 'Electrify' As Government, Businesses Plug In

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>The drive to "electrify" truck stops and cut big rig idling is gaining momentum after lying dormant in 2002, with the federal government funding projects and private business taking the plunge, according to several sources in the trucking industry.

"In 2002 there were a lot of discussions, but not a lot of movement," George Strickland, director of construction, engineering and maintenance for Travel Centers of America, said at the recent annual meeting of Natso in Orlando, Fla. "There was a lot going on under the surface."

Truck stop electrification is a broad term for technology that allows truckers to run heaters, air conditioning and other vehicle devices while their trucks are parked, rather than idling their engines.

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