PITT OHIO is bringing its zero emissions efforts online

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Arguments and myths against zero-emission trucking abound, especially when it comes to grid electricity generation, which can be a dirty process in itself.

In March, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania-based PITT OHIO became the first fleet in the country to add Freightliner’s electric M2 to its Cleveland, Ohio-based LTL operation, but the ecology at the tailpipe wasn’t green enough. The PITT OHIO terminal in Cleveland also hosts a patented renewable energy microgrid powered by eight wind turbines and 1,500 solar panels.

“Wind, solar and alternative energy are part of our culture,” said director of building maintenance and property management Jim Maug, “but the most important elements: post-consumer recycled materials, biodegradable cleaning products, recycling, no off-gassing and no (volatile compounds) organic) in our paint, LED lighting, low water consumption… these are all important elements that make up the whole package.

One of the newest parts of the package – if not the most technologically advanced – is a renewable energy-powered microgrid located at two PITT OHIO terminals, each of which harvests wind and solar power and distributes it to points of use. The motor carrier received a patent for the process in 2020. Maug, while certainly a step in the motor carrier’s decarbonization plans, originally claimed it was a way to insulate the company from potential power outages.

PITT OHIO partnered with WindStax Energy to design and install the ZeroFirst high-voltage DC microgrid using solar and wind turbines to generate, store and consume renewable energy on-site.“In fact, for the sake of resilience in the event of a power outage, we will run away from microgrids,” he said.

The idea for renewable energy began in 2012 with a photovoltaic installation at the company’s terminal in East Windsor, New Jersey.

PITT OHIO then entered into talks with the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh to study direct current (DC) energy produced by solar panels and wind turbines, and eventually built a laboratory for the school at the Pittsburgh terminal where students could study terminal turbine activity wind and solar panels.

PITT OHIO partnered with WindStax Energy to design and install the ZeroFirst high-voltage DC microgrid using solar and wind turbines to generate, store and consume renewable energy on-site. Excess renewable energy is sent back to the utility when production exceeds demand – a model that strikes a balance between self-consumption and net metering to reduce the facilities’ annual carbon footprint.

Justine Russo, director of sustainability and business intelligence at PITT OHIO, noted that generally speaking, the only thing that doesn’t use carrier-generated energy at the Cleveland facility is the company’s electric trucks.

“The goal was to connect the microgrid to fast chargers so that we could charge an electric truck solely from renewable sources,” she said. “Trucks just use too much energy.”

The Cleveland microgrid combines solar and wind energy with battery storage to power lighting loads throughout the facility. Awarded several U.S. patents, the design of distributing high-voltage direct current to the luminaire uses renewable energy with maximum efficiency.

However, the wind does not always blow, the sun does not always shine, and temperature fluctuations and weather anomalies can have a major impact on energy consumption and production, so energy from the power grid is readily available as a reserve. The surplus renewable energy produced by PITT OHIO is sent to the grid.

“Sometimes in the summer, more energy is produced than is consumed and fed into the grid. Sometimes in the winter you can generate less,” Maug said, adding that within 12 months the facility is essentially net zero. “The way it works is you use what you earn. Some days, rainy days and cloudy days, you don’t make as much. And in August you make a lot of money.”

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ohio is among the 10 states with the highest total energy consumption, but renewable energy resources provided about 4% of Ohio’s total electricity production in 2022. Because generation in the state does not meet consumer demand, Ohio typically imports 20-25% of its electricity from other states and Canada via the regional grid.

The PITT OHIO system first uses energy generated on-site and then draws the necessary balance from the grid – WindStax Energy’s “ZeroFirst” system. Any surplus sent to the grid acts as a credit to the utility when it bills you based on your facility’s usage. “There is a meter that says, ‘We gave you X and before you charge us for anything, we use X,’” Maug said.

Russo noted that the company’s microduct probably won’t make sense in all of the company’s 25 facilities, adding that the company’s approach is to “find the right opportunities in the right locations. We have over 1,000 drive units in 25 facilities. That’s a lot”. diesel. I think it makes more sense to use new technology?”

Maug added that the company has installed numerous weather stations across its network to help provide data on where similar renewable systems may operate. “We will go through our terminals site by location to see which ones will provide the greatest benefits,” he said. “I think there is a risk if we produce 100% of the energy ourselves. I think there is a risk if we stay 100% online. I think we’re very forward-looking, but our approach is also gradual and we’ll continue to do that.”

Just as the East Windsor installation gave birth to a larger, more efficient system in Ohio, Maug expects technological advances to continue to expand the potential of the PITT OHIO microgrid system.

“What we did in East Windsor was available at the time,” he said, “and as the technology matured, taking the next step, we decided to go with a microgrid. I can say that it will develop even more.”

Maug said that this maturation process would need to involve a total number of interested parties, including: from the truck transport industry.

“What we went through, it had to be a community-based environment. No company will be able to solve this. A whole group of companies cooperating with the government will be needed. There will need to be more efficient charging sources – and I really don’t know if it will be hydrogen in the future, whether it will be nuclear, whether it will be cogeneration in the future… It will have to be accessed by many communities and governments together to solve the problem . These are huge amounts of energy that need to be produced, and the charging stations need to be similar.”

The CCJ Innovators program is operated by Bestpass, Chevron Delo, Comdata and Freightliner Trucks.