Derrick Travel Center goes electric

Gary Cotnoir, of CabAire, LLC, shows County Commissioner Jon Barber and Granite Quarry Mayor Mary Ponds, how the modules work. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

What the inside of the cab looks like with the window kit and module. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

By Shelley Smithssmith@salisburypost.com

A six-year truck stop electrification project is now permanently plugged into Rowan County.

The truck stop electrification project, involving the Centralina Council of Government (CCOG) and the Rowan County Commissioners, is now in service at Derrick Travel Center, a truck stop on Peeler Road off of exit 71 on Interstate 85.

The project is an effort to end truck idling by allowing truck drivers to turn off engines and provide truck cab connection to HVAC, block heater power, outlets for in-cab use, as well as Internet and cable access.

The truck stop has 44 parking spaces, with 22 electrification towers, and will reduce emissions and noise significantly, as well as fuel costs for the drivers.

Each tower has two service modules, which hook onto the window of the truck. Window kits are available at Derrick Travel Center for purchase, and cost between $12 and $25. The center is currently offering the service free of charge, and charges for the services will be minimal once implemented.

According to Neal Leonhardt, with CCOG, idling trucks use 0.8 to 1.2 gallons of diesel fuel per hour. Because the Department of Transportation requires truckers to rest for 10 hours for every 11 hours of driving, trucks are usually parked for extended periods of time with the engines running.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in one year, the total fuel-cost savings (per parking space) of idling versus not running the engine is more than $3,000.

The facilities were revealed Friday morning, with many local officials and representatives with CCOG at Derrick Travel Center welcoming the project.

"Air quality is one of the most vital issues we face in this region," said Bob Misenheimer, Kannapolis Mayor and CCOG Board chairman. "This project is one of the best projects we could possibly do.

"I am extremely glad to see the cities and counties making a difference."

County Commissioner Raymond Coltrain expressed his eagerness for the project, noting that everyone's decisions today will greatly affect future generations.

"This is about the air that we breathe and most importantly the air we leave behind for our kids and grandkids," he said.

Al Sharp, executive director of CCOG, reflected on a trip he and others made last winter to the truck stop one night, "to listen to all the trucks idling," he said. He noted the sights, smells and sounds, and looked forward to a better future with less emissions and better air quality.

"What you see now is the wave of the future," he said. "What's significant is that what we do this morning is going to have impacts on us this afternoon."

Sharp called truck stop electrification a "win-win."

"It gives them (drivers) a better environment in which to provide their mandatory rest," he said. "It gives income for the stops. And it improves air quality in our region."

Gary Cotnoir, with CabAire, demonstrated the product, which he says will be a blessing for truck drivers.

"When I did the installation, trucks just ran and ran and ran," he said. "I can't imagine the noise trying to sleep."

Commissioner Jon Barber noted the proximity of the truck stop to Southeast Middle School.

"If this station here is going to improve air quality near the schools, and improve air quality for those students, that's a great benefit," he said. "I think this is outstanding."

Founding Director of the Catawba Center for Environment Dr. John Wear said in order to solve the air quality issues in our region, more projects such as the truck stop electrification need to be considered.

"Cumulatively, how we do things like this, allowing people to cut their engines off at night and have all these amenities, to ways we create businesses and homes more efficiently, it is all cumulatively helping reduce our fossil fuel use and moving us to cleaner air and less carbon emissions, he said.

"Any time you reduce the diesel and automobile emissions near the schools, that's very important.

"More and more we're seeing studies done telling us we need to be making considerations in terms of school systems and diesel emissions, and proximities to certain areas of those emissions."

Leonhardt said Derrick Travel Center was chosen because the center had a willing owner, a large enough lot and a close proximity to a major interstate.

"You'd be surprised how many truck stops in our area were not eligible," he said.

The $760,000 project is a combination of grants and donations.

In 2004, CCOG and Rowan County received a $100,000 EPA Smartway grant to begin the project, and also received $400,000 in Congestion Mitigation for Air Quality (CMAQ) funding. CabAire, LLC, the vendor that installed the electrification service towers, contributed $260,000 for the project.

Former Commissioner Leda Belk helped Rowan County secure the federal grants when the program became available in 2004.

There are 133 truck stop electrification locations in the nation, with Rowan's making the third in North Carolina.

For more information on CabAire, LLC, visit www.controlmod.com/cabaire/.