Truck Stops * USA - Add electric plugs to parking spaces

Project gives drivers a way to power onboard devices without running their engines

Charlotte,NC,USA -The Charlotte News Observer, by John Murawski -Oct. 19, 2009: -- Big rigs rumbling through the Carolinas increasingly have a novel option: turning off the ignition and saving energy... As simple as that sounds, silencing the engine for the night is almost unheard of in the world of long-distance trucking. Truckers, who live in their rigs, rely on the truck's engines to power onboard computers, televisions, heaters and air conditioners... Today, Big Boys Truck Stop off Interstate 95, about an hour east of Raleigh in Kenly, becomes only the third truck stop in the state offering the overnight plug-in option. A fourth is scheduled to open later this month in Rowan County, 45 miles northeast of Charlotte... Big Boys manager Wendi Powell said the investment has not been considered profitable for most truck stops, but Big Boys wanted to differentiate itself from bigger competitors... (Photo: Mark Simila installs an Electrified Parking Space pod at the Big Boys Truck Stop off I-95 in Johnston County on Monday. It's only the third truck stop in the state offering the overnight plug-in option)