Surry-Yadkin EMC Partners with Local Produce Company on eTRU Project

(Left to right) Hollar and Greene Produce Plant Manager Eric Baker with driver Bruce Church.

In May, Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation (SYEMC), North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives and a local family-owned produce company launched a collaborative project that will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide a more energy efficient way to transport produce.

Through the project, Hollar & Greene Produce, a Watauga County-based cabbage producer and hauler, is switching from diesel to electricity to power refrigeration units used for cold-storage shipping — the first time this technology has been deployed by North Carolina’s electric cooperatives. The eTRU units (which stands for electric transport refrigeration) will help keep produce trucks cool during staging at a transportation facility in Mount Airy, saving the company an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 per year.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with this project,” said Travis Bode, SYEMC’s manager of economic development. “The results of the project are already delivering impressive results on fuel savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”

(Left to right) Travis Bode; Brandon Bettis and Tony Greene with Hollar and Greene Produce; and Jim Muselik at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo courtesy of Surry-Yadkin EMC.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Hollar & Greene gave a demonstration of the eTRU technology on one of its trucks, switching over from diesel fuel to electricity, showing how the process works and the noticeable reduction in noise — another benefit of eTRUs.

“This eTRU project is a perfect example of how cooperatives working with their members can develop solutions that bring benefits to members and communities,” said Jim Musilek, vice president of innovation and business development for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “With the success of this project, we are excited not only about this partnership but for the larger-scale deployment of this technology across our state and how it will help power a brighter future for generations to come.”