‘Nobody really knows’ when company will see return on electric semi investment

A company in Utah has made the state’s first electric semi truck investment in an attempt to “be a part of the solution to the problem.”

Utah Paperbox CEO Steve Keyser says that he ordered the electric semi truck from Volvo more than two years ago for $500,000. Now, the electric rig has finally arrived, making it the first to be put to work in the state of Utah. 

“That’s just kind of how we roll,” said Keyser in an interview.  “I think in 2009, when we put the solar on our building. We were like the ninth largest producer of solar in Utah.”

“If the air gets worse, I have to deal with it.” Keyser continued to Fox 13. “So I’m trying to be a part of the solution to the problem.”

The company is replacing a 25 year old tractor trailer with their newer, electric semi investment, in hopes of using 800 fewer gallons of diesel a month. Keyser says that he expects the electric semi truck to save them around $2,500 in fuel costs a month, meaning that the company might see a return in more than ten years. 

Utah Paperbox plans to use the rig to make deliveries from Salt Lake City, to Provo, to Ogden, and hopefully to Logan without running out of charge. 

“It’s one step at a time.” Keyser said. “I mean, there’s, there’s nobody out there that really knows this. I mean, we’re the first people.”

The company already has roof-mounted solar panels, which it plans to use to charge the electric semi truck in as few as three hours.