This day and age there are many environmental concerns to take into consideration with any business. With the trucking industry using a large amount of oil and gas on a daily basis, the interest in alternative energy sources has grown. To further assist with green energy, there is an idea out there that involves putting solar panels on the roof of trailers. Now, the amount of energy collected isn’t enough to replace a full diesel engine, but it can supply the energy to run lights, lifts, AC, and auxiliary power instead of idling the engine.
Solar panels on trailers is a long term investment when you look at the cost to install and maintain the panels compared to how much it saves in the long run. Also, an area that gets a lot of sun is more ideal than a state that gets a lot of winter cloud cover. The type of trailer is also an important factor as a dry van would make more sense with its blank and empty roof as opposed to a tanker. There are many more things to consider when going this direction toward sustainability and you can find quite a few of them here.