ON-BOARD SOLUTIONS

      Following is a compilation of the latest industry announcements and developments for on-board solutions to eliminate truck idling.

      Linda Gaines, who researches anti-idling for Argonne National Laboratory as part of a DOE effort to reduce petroleum imports, offers some information that may be helpful in talking about on-board solutions to anti-idling.
      "In the short term, if [truckers] don’t want to idle, they’re going to (need to) have on-board equipment, because there’s little infrastructure in place for truckstop electrification.
      "There are lots of options,” she said. “If you’re driving across Texas you’re obviously going to need an air conditioner, but if you drive a northern route, maybe you just need a heater. There are some full-service devices, which are somewhat more expensive, but they do everything for you. And if you idle a lot, they pay for themselves.”
      "Until the [truckstop electrification] infrastructure’s in place and the on-board equipment looks better, in our opinion, given how many truck parking spaces there are and where trucks tend to park, there’s a distinct advantage for having on-board equipment,” Gaines says.
      The Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) in Eugene, Ore. has a program giving low-interest loans to truckers who put in APUs.
      The contact for LRAPA is kmetzler@lrapa.org, or call (541) 736-1056, Ext. 218.

Emissions Authority continued...