PepsiCo Beverages North America is installing two Tesla Megapack battery storage systems to power heavy-duty electric truck charging at its Fresno, California, manufacturing, distribution and depot site.
The 170,000-square-foot Fresno facility is home to a fleet operation which distributes such products as Pepsi, STARRY, Gatorade, Rockstar, Aquafina and more. The beverage giant is expanding its electric-powered truck fleet across California, and its Frito-Lay brand is exploring microgrids in the state.
PepsiCo will soon have 50 Class 8 Tesla Semi trucks based in Fresno, with 75 Ford E-Transit electric vans moving to electrify the equipment services fleet across the state. At Fresno, trucks will be charged by eight 750-kW Tesla chargers and the two Tesla Megapack systems installed on-site.
“Our fleet electrification is an important part of our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) strategy and illustrates how sustainability is a core business strategy at PepsiCo—good for the planet, good for our business and good for the communities we serve,” John Dean, president for PepsiCo Beverages North America, said in a statement.
Fleet Electrification and the Grid
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The PepsiCo electric fleet expansion was supported with a state grant provided by the California Air Resources Board, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and the California Energy Commission. How is clean vehicle adoption doing among fleets? Read new report.
Tesla, which has a Megapack manufacturing site in California, has deployed its battery storage product to support microgrid and grid balancing projects across the globe.
The concerns over electricity resource adequacy is leading many e-mobility projects to consider microgrid solutions on-site. Earlier this week, developer Scale Microgrids announced a non-binding partnership with EO Charging to support power generation for EV charging sites across the U.S.
ELM Microgrid and other companies also are working to deploy on-site power solutions for expanding EV charging. Electrify America and bus-truck manufacturer NFI recently opened a direct-current fast charging facility in Ontario, California with 7 MW of charging capacity.
