Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks With Solar Panels Are Here For Your Food

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The iconic US automaker Tesla has made a habit of grabbing the electric vehicle spotlight and focusing it on cars, pickup trucks, and long-haul semis. However, decarbonizing the trailer part of a tractor-trailer truck can be just as consequential, if not quite as attention-getting. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the leading US food distribution firm Performance Food Group, which is transitioning its diesel fleet to electric trucks equipped with solar-enabled electric refrigeration trailers.

Reefer Madness: Decarbonizing The US Refrigerated Truck Fleet

In the food distribution business, electric trucks only solve one part of the diesel fuel problem. If the food being hauled requires temperature controls, that typically involves an onboard diesel generator dedicated to producing the electricity needed to run refrigeration systems.

A commonly cited estimate is about 500,000 reefers — refrigerated trailers — on the roads in the US. Add in smaller refrigerated trucks and that adds up to a lot of diesel fuel for that generator.

Our friends over at Freight Waves ran the numbers in January of 2023 and noted that reefer fuel is identical to standard diesel, except it is dyed red to distinguish it from engine fuel. Reefer fuel is not permitted for use in powering the truck engine itself, only for refrigeration generator. It does not fall under the same taxes scheme as standard diesel, so it’s not as expensive as regular diesel. Still, it’s not cheap. “As of December 2022, the national average cost was $2.74 per mile,” observed Freight Waves reporter Alex Dryjowicz.

Putting it another way, Dryjowic explains that reefer fuel tanks typically have a 50-gallon capacity and need refilling every 2–4 days, based on an average usage rate of 0.75 gallons of fuel per hour. That can vary from 0.50 to 1.00 gallons per hour, depending on the efficiency of the system.

“If a reefer unit runs out of fuel, the refrigeration generators will shut down, and the temperature-sensitive goods inside will spoil,” Dryjowic cautioned.  “It can also be difficult to restart a reefer unit after running out of fuel, so it’s best to maintain at least a quarter tank of reefer fuel at all times.”

Performance Food Group Banks On Electric Trucks

If you caught that thing about running out of fuel, that explains why refrigerated food haulers need to tread cautiously on electric trucks. Running out of juice can spoil an entire cargo.

Still, Performance Food Group is willing to make a go of it, with a funding assist from public agencies and support from reliable private sector partners.

PFG tapped its sprawling distribution center in Gilroy, California, to start things off. In an embargoed press release shared with CleanTechnica, PFG listed six new Class 8 Volvo VNR electric trucks as one part of the decarbonization project, purchased with vouchers from California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project.

Solar Panels For Electric Trucks

The other part is the replacement of diesel-powered reefers, or TRUs (transport refrigeration units) as they are officially known, with 100% electric TRUs from the firm Advance Energy Machines. The full “SolarTechTRU” kit includes a rooftop solar panel array of 35 kilowatt-hours per day along with a lithium-ion battery pack. The company notes that its patented regenerative braking system also produces 12 kilowatt-hours per day on average.

AEM calculates that the solar-enabled system is sufficient to reduce if not eliminate grid-sourced electricity to run its high-efficiency refrigeration system — though, that depends on the temperature. The solar panels alone provide 100% of daily power for 34 degrees Fahrenheit and above, and about 35% for sub-zero temperatures.

In an interesting twist, AEM also notes that its technology is engineered to be removed and installed on another new trailer, or installed as a retrofit on existing diesel-powered trailers. “The SolarTechTRU outlives the typical life span of cold chain trailers. The SolarTechTRU is designed to be installed onto new trailers, or to take the place of dirty diesel TRUs, and it can be moved from trailer to trailer,” the company explains.

So far, PFG has replaced more than 30 conventional TRUs with AEM’s new zero-emission SolarTechTRU models. “Each of the electric TRU installations completed within PFG’s fleet of refrigerated trailers has helped PFG eliminate approximately 20 tons of CO₂ per TRU, per year,” PFG reports.

Who’s Going To Charge All These Electric Trucks?

As for charging up the new trucks, PFG turned to FreeWire Technologies, a familiar face on the pages of CleanTechnica. The name FreeWire refers to the company’s battery-integrated EV charging stations, which enable it to provide ultra-fast charging without relying directly on the grid.

For the Gilroy site, FreeWire installed 15 of its Boost EV charging stations, which PFG can use to charge up to 30 Class 8 electric trucks at a time.

“FreeWire’s energy requirements are nearly 10x lower than traditional chargers, reducing peak energy demand and grid strain while providing more efficient power,” PFG enthused.

The energy storage angle also enabled PFG to scoot past the line for hookups. “PFG was able to add 3MW of power needed for ultrafast charging to their existing facility, leapfrogging the local utility company’s three-year timeline,” the company explained.

More Solar Icing On The Green Cake: What About Food Trucks?

Rounding out PFG’s decarbonization plan for the Gilroy facility is a new 1.5 megawatt rooftop solar array and a 500kW/1100kWh energy storage system, designed around charging needs for the company’s growing fleet of electric trucks.

That’s just for starters. PFG notes it plans to continue working with its partners on the Gilroy project to decarbonize its other 150 locations spread out across the US.

All this activity in the long-haul refrigerated food distribution area reminds us that it would be a great idea to decarbonize retail food trucks, too, beginning with the diesel-spewing ice cream trucks that poison the lungs of children waiting in line for their ice creams.

Among the leading global automakers, Nissan has teased the idea with its repurposed e-NV200 electric van, in partnership with the renewables-friendly ice cream and chocolate maker Mackie’s of Scotland.

Startups are also getting into the act. The New Jersey ice cream purveyor Scream Trucks recently got a battery-powered makeover from the energy storage firm Joule Case.

Looking at you, Mister Softee….