Tesla Semi electric trucks to roll into Frito-Lay plant

Earlier this week Anheuser-Busch announced it was entering California’s electric truck demonstration race with 21 BYD battery-electric beer delivery trucks.

Anheuser-Busch  has also ordered 40 electric Class 8 trucks from Tesla and is one of the biggest customers awaiting delivery of  hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks from Nikola Corp.

The Frito-Lay plan

Pepsi’s multi-faceted plan aims to turn the Modesto facility, one of Frito-Lay’s largest in the U.S., into a sustainability showcase featuring zero/near zero-emission vehicles, more solar panels and storage and on-site charging stations. 

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is contributing half of the $30.8 million cost of the project through a grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which taps into a statewide cap-and-trade program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from major corporations, utilities and other sources.

In a statement, Michael O’Connell, vice president of supply chain at PepsiCo said, “The Modesto project is indicative of our commitment to sustainable business practices that lead to innovation, increased productivity, operational excellence, and business growth.”

O’Connell also stated, “We are grateful for the support of San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, CARB and CCI in making this important project happen. We hope this work will become an operating model for all of our facilities across the U.S., and that we can act as the catalyst to accelerate adoption of alternative fuel vehicles across the industry.”

The project will be completed by 2021, according to the PepsiCo news release.