Frito-Lay lowers emissions with new fleet in California

Frito-Lay a snack food division of PepsiCo. has announced that by the end of 2021, it will replace all existing diesel-powered vehicles at its Modesto manufacturing plant in California, with zero-emission (ZE) or “near-zero-emission” (NZE) vehicles.

The transition of Fritolay’s Modesto plant fleet is nearly completed, including infrastructure and nearly 60 vehicles. These include tractors, box trucks, yard trucks or forklifts, which are either battery-electric or “natural gas with renewable attributes”.

Now, the only remaining missing vehicles are the 15 electric tractors that are expected to be deployed later this year. These vehicles are the first Tesla Semis ordered in 2019, alongside 38 Volvo ultra-low carbon renewable natural gas trucks, 12 battery-electric BYD forklifts, 6 Peterbilt e220 battery-electric straight trucks and 3 battery-electric BYD yard trucks.

FritoLay says that the infrastructure for these vehicles is already installed and includes an adjacent natural gas station with “renewable attributes”, along with solar carports, battery storage, truck charging systems and employee electric vehicle charging stations.

The project has required a total investment sum of $30.8M and is the result of a partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) that was awarded a grant from California Climate Investments (CCI), which is a statewide program to reduce GHG emissions.

For its part, CCI funding is awarded by several state agencies including the California Air Resources Board (CARB). These funds were matched with investments from Frito-Lay and American Natural Gas (ANG).

“We applaud the progress Frito-Lay has achieved thus far with its Modesto site project, despite the current landscape implications with the pandemic,” said Sydney Vergis, chief of CARB’s Mobile Source Control Division. “This project is so important to the Valley as it will improve air quality and reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions.”

Indeevs points out that Pepsi and Fritolay will benefit from being some of Tesla’s first customers for the new Semis since new Tesla products attract a lot of media attention. Be that as it may, residents in the surrounding areas should notice the difference in air quality.

insideevs.com, electrek.co (Tesla Semi trucks), fritolay.com