As battery electric and hybrid construction equipment gains traction, Preston Moore, manager of power solutions and charging systems at John Deere, says the industry needs to think beyond the machine and look at the full power picture. What does it really take to prepare jobsites, especially remote ones, for electrification?
Instead of treating charging like an add-on, Moore stresses that power planning should be part of fleet strategy from day one. That means taking a close look at grid capacity, on-site generation, energy storage and charging logistics, and how they all work together to keep crews productive.
He also wants manufacturers and contractors to understand how equipment usage affects charging needs and overall efficiency. Moore argues that a practical, big-picture approach that balances upfront costs with long-term performance is the only realistic way forward as construction continues to electrify.
About the Author
Gavin Jenkins, Senior Managing Editor
Senior Managing Editor
Gavin Jenkins is an award-winning journalist based in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, VICE, Narrative.ly, Prevention, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Beijing Review.
In 2020, two stories he wrote for Pitt Med Magazine earned three Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. “Surviving Survival” won Excellence in Corporate, Marketing and Promotional Communications – Written, Medical/Health, while “Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh’s Darkest Day, and the Mass Casualty Response” won Excellence in Written Journalism, Magazines – Medical/Health, as well as the Ray Sprigle Memorial Award: Magazines, a Best in Show award.
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2003, he covered sports for the Bedford Gazette, in Bedford, Pa., and the Martinsville Bulletin, in Martinsville, Va. In 2006, he returned to Pittsburgh to write for Trib Total Media. Based out of the Kittanning Leader Times, he worked for the Trib for two years, and then he moved to Shenzhen, China, to teach English and freelance. After two years in China, he earned an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh.
When he's not at work, he's usually playing with his border-collie mix, Bob.