Some 25 years ago or so, my parents built a new home for the family. Installed on the roof were a couple of very large solar panels. The panels harnessed the power of the sun to provide us with hot water.

The problem with the system was that we ran out of hot water fairly quickly. If all five of us took showers right after each other, the fourth and fifth people in would be taking a cold shower. My mother had to do laundry at night so as not to waste the hot water.

My, how things have changed.

Doran Manufacturing has installed 148 solar panels on the roof of its facility in Cincinnati and six inverters to generate 50% of the electricity needed to run the facility. The system uses solar panels from Third Sun Solar & Wind Power. It will produce 50,500 kW hours per year and reduce the peak kW load by 15-25 kW’s during the summer months, Doran said. In fact, the energy produced is enough to power five homes for a year.

“We spend so much time working with our truck fleet and RV customers on the significant economic benefits associated with using Doran’s tire pressure monitoring systems that it inspired us to look internally at the available opportunities to control our costs by investing in technology,” said Jeff Stegman Doran’s CEO. “Whether we can help to extend the life of tires and improve fuel efficiency for fleets or produce our own electricity with the help of the sun, it will have a positive impact on the environment and the economy.”

Doran said it expects a return on investment in less than four years through a combination of energy savings, Renewable Energy Credits and other incentives.

Doran is not the only company doing this. But it is a good example that other companies can follow.

As the 40th anniversary of Earth Day approaches tomorrow, Wheels Inc., a billion-dollar fleet leasing company, has issued a challenge: be greener. To mark the occasion, Wheels has launched the EcoWheels Green Driver Challenge. The program will run through July 1.

“Small changes in driving habits can have a big impact on fuel efficiency and, intrinsically, the environment,” said Dan Frank, president of Wheels Services. “The EcoWheels Green Driver Challenge is another opportunity for Wheels and our clients to make sure that we are using the most sustainable driving practices.”

The purpose of the challenge is for fleet drivers to learn about and pledge to adopt sustainable driving practices to minimize the environmental impact of their driving.

SimplexGrinnell, one of Wheel’s clients, will be encouraging its drivers to participate. SimplexGrinnell runs a fleet of 7,000 vehicles.

“Our company is strongly committed to the environment and to reducing our carbon footprint,” said SimplexGrinnell president James Spicer. “By participating in the Green Driver Challenge, we can engage our drivers to do their part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and add the incentive of tracking in real time the positive effect their commitment has on the environment.”

The EcoWheels Green Driver Challenge is a way to encourage drivers to commit to practices like reducing idling time, checking tire pressure and employing efficient route planning – all things that anyone involved in the trucking industry should be doing these days anyway because it’s simply good business. But as we all know, that is not always the case.

Anyone interested in the program can register at a special website. Once there, they will indicate what actions they plan to take. Upon the input of the data, the website will calculate the carbon dioxide output that each pledge will save and the impact of that reduction in the equivalent number of trees planted.

The EcoWheels program was created in 2007 and has already helped Wheels’ clients save 250,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

“We are developing programs like the EcoWheels Green Driver Challenge in response to our clients’ desire to make real improvements to and reduce their impact on the environment,” said Frank. “Wheels’ ability to create strategies that drive measurable change for companies like SimplexGrinnell and the others already signed up for the event secures our leadership in the fleet management arena.”

It’s hard to imagine that it’s been 40 years since the first Earth Day, given the overall state of our environment. It seems we have a lot of work still to do. Everyone, fleets or not, can do their part, and many of the solutions are simple and can become part of our everyday lives. Things like turning off lights when they are not in use, using reusable bottles, and turning down the thermostat at night. The official Earth Day site even suggests attending local meetings to encourage officials to develop a green local economy.

There are many more options available. But for the trucking industry, the options, such as reducing idling and creating more fuel-efficient vehicles, are viable and make sense. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s this: No matter the industry or initiative, the quickest way to get action is to provide a financial incentive. Cutting fuel costs and reducing idling creates an immediate financial benefit for fleets. Considering how many trucks I see on the roads traveling faster than most cars, or parked idling in the lot of the local manufacturing plant down the street from my house, it’s apparent we have a lot of work still to do.

Earth Day is the day to start.

Traffic on Interstate 95 between Delaware and Maryland should be easing in the future as stimulus money is helping to add E-Z Pass lanes at the toll plaza near the Route 896 interchange and the Maryland state line.

The Delaware Dept. of Transportation (DelDOT) started work last week on the project. It will be sometime – likely August of 2011 – before the project is completed, but will allow for thousands of more vehicles to pass through the plaza each day. DelDOT officials told television station WHYY that current toll lanes can handle 350 to 400 cars and trucks per hour. That number will rise to 2,000 per hour upon completion.

Construction includes the E-Z Pass lanes in addition to a number of other changes and improvements. Traffic will be slowed during the day as construction takes place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. When all the work is complete, there will be four new E-Z Pass lanes plus a complete retrofitting of existing toll plaza booths and an overhead walkway for toll collectors to safely access their booths.

To date, according to recovery.gov, which tracks the stimulus spending, approximately $314 billion of the $78 billion spending package has been spent. With all the questioning of where this money is going – and some of it deservedly so – Delaware use of this funding seems both appropriate (the stimulus was supposed to create or save jobs, right?) in the short term and long term. It creates or saves jobs now, improves the infrastructure of I-95 and eases traffic congestion. Not a bad trifecta.

More information on the project can be obtained here.

The rejection by the Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) of Pennsylvania’s plans to toll I-80 in that state is just the latest example of how flawed our infrastructure funding system is right now.

Pennsylvania wanted to use toll revenue from I-80 to fund transportation-related projects around the state, including mass transit and road repair projects. The problem is that toll revenue from Interstates, by law, must be used for upkeep of that Interstate. Jim Runk, president & CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Assn., told me the law is pretty clear on that.

But, because Pennsylvania needed that revenue, it submitted the plan three times to FHWA, and each time it was rejected. As a result, the state is facing a transportation budget shortfall of $500 to $600 million for the next fiscal year.

Pennsylvania is but the latest state to try innovative ideas to fix its funding shortfalls. New Hampshire wanted to buy a one-mile portion of I-95 that led to the Spaulding Turnpike in that state. The plan called for that section to be turned into a part of the Spaulding, thereby creating more revenue for the state of New Hampshire.

Gov. John Lynch wanted to use toll revenues from the Spaulding, which were performing well enough that there was a surplus of funds in the account. Because the revenue can only be used for work on the Spaulding and the road was in such good shape, Lynch wanted to use the surplus to buy the stretch of I-95, thereby costing taxpayers nary a dime, but in the end creating a new revenue source.

What these states and others are doing is simply trying to find ways to recoup money that is being lost as people drive less and vehicles become more fuel efficient. The majority of highway funding in this country comes from fuel taxes for gas and diesel. As vehicles become more efficient, and the government is pushing more fuel efficient vehicles, the funding gap is only going to grow.

The reality is it costs basically same to repair a road whether 10,000 vehicles traverse it each day or 1,000 vehicles. If the government doesn’t act now to develop a new funding mechanism for infrastructure costs, this country is going to be in dire straits in just a few years. Relying on gas taxes just won’t cut it anymore.

As reports abound today that automakers Renault and Nissan will announce a parts-sharing and technology-swapping alliance with Daimler tomorrow morning, it is just another example of the blurring of lines when it comes to choosing which vehicle to purchase these days.

And this one should bear watching by the trucking industry as well, as some reports suggest there may be commercial implications in this deal. The Detroit News reported this morning it is possible that Renault may sell its 20% stake in AB Volvo, parent of both Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks North America, to Daimler. A second report, this one from the New York Times, suggests collaboration on light commercial vehicles may be part of the arrangement.

We’ll certainly learn more tomorrow morning, I’m sure.

According to the Associated Press, a joint news conference will be held in Brussels to announce the partnership, which was confirmed by French Industry Minister Christian Estrosi. The French government owns 15% of Renault, which owns a 44% stake in Nissan and a 25% stake in AvtoVaz, a Russian car maker, among other holdings, no doubt.

Daimler has had relationships with Chrysler and Mitsubishi in the past and owns the Mercedes-Benz line. This partnership appears to be about Daimler’s interest in producing small cars at affordable prices and Renault’s desire to gain access to Daimler’s engineering prowess, particularly when it comes to engines.

The final result, though, may have an impact on the commercial markets as well.