Canada to Mexico in an electric rig? Utilities get ready

摘要

Electric companies up and down the West Coast yesterday announced the beginnings of a plan to build fuelingstations for electric big rigs along Interstate 5, a major artery of Pacific commerce.The West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative is for now just a study to be completed by the end of the year. Ina call with journalists, representatives of nearly every large utility on the Pacific seaboard seemed confident theywould eventually build that infrastructure, though it may lose money for them in the short run.Most of the world's trucks run on diesel engines, which are reliable but contribute to smog and lung diseases.Now the world's largest trucking companies, as well as upstarts such as Tesla Inc., are starting to design and testtractor-trailers that run on batteries. None have set firm dates for commercialization.