Stimulus Funds Spur Diesel Parking Electrification ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - About $800,000 are going to retrofit three truck stops across the state.

Instead of truckers idling while they rest, the money will go towards putting the drivers on the electric grid, says Richard Schutt of the EPA.

"And that will provide them with a/c, access to computers, they can watch cable TVs, so it provides them with all the amenities that they have in their truck without the emissions of the Diesel being burned."

The EPA is giving the money to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which will in turn divvy it out to private truck stops. William Cook of the DNR says Georgia lags behind other states in retrofitting Diesel rest stops, largely because of the cost between four and 20-thousand dollars per spot. The hope is the money will spur electrification.

"That means there's more revenue coming in to both the vendors of this equipment as well as to the truck stops who are now earning money off the parking spaces. That will then feed off itself, and allow them to do even more without any kind of government assistance."

Cook says currently only five rest stops across the state are electrified.

He says the bid process and instillation will likely take a year. Jim Burress, WABE News.
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