The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has launched the new Mobile Truck Stop Electrification Locator, a mobile application that helps truck drivers find public truckstops with idle reduction facilities.
The application works on cell phones, Blackberries, or other mobile devices.

The Mobile Truck Stop Electrification Locator uses Google Maps to generate maps to the five closest electrification sites within 200 miles and lists each site's contact information.

"Long-haul trucks average six hours of idling per day, using almost a billion gallons of fuel each year nationwide," said Wendy Dafoe, NREL manager of DOE's Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC) web site. "By helping drivers take advantage of electrification sites, the mobile locator can help save thousands of dollars per truck in annual fuel costs, while reducing emissions and aiding compliance with local idle reduction regulations."

NREL is partnering with truckstop electrification equipment manufacturers, such as CabAire, Shorepower, IdleAire, and EnviroDock, to collect site locations for the mobile tool. New sites are added as they open, and existing station information is verified annually.

The phone application, which was developed by NREL, is based on the AFDC web site's Truck Stop Electrification Site Locator.

More info: www.afdc.energy.gov