Prentice Lands a Solar EV Hub at the Hwy 8 and 13 Crossroads

Last updated: October 2026

Quick Answer: Dairyland Power Cooperative and Price Electric Cooperative are breaking ground on the Prentice Solar Electric Vehicle (EV) Hub at the R Store Truck & Travel Center in Prentice, at the intersection of Highway 8 and Highway 13. The project adds four fast EV chargers, a solar canopy and battery storage. It was made possible with assistance from a U.S. Department of Energy federal grant opportunity. Construction begins this fall, with completion expected in summer 2027. The travel center is operated by a subsidiary of ARKO Corp. (Nasdaq: ARKO), one of the largest convenience store operators in the United States.

What is being built, and where

The hub goes up at a crossroads that already works as northern Price County’s front door for highway traffic. Highway 8 runs east–west across the top of the state; Highway 13 runs north–south through Prentice on its way between Phillips and Medford. The R Store Truck & Travel Center sits at that junction, and ARKO’s subsidiary operates it.

The build has three parts. Four fast electric vehicle chargers will serve drivers. A solar canopy will generate power on site. Battery storage will hold that energy and, critically, keep the travel center running when the grid goes down.

Four fast chargers

The chargers are the visible piece of the project, the part travelers will use. They put a fast-charging option at a rural junction that today sits well off Wisconsin’s built-out charging corridors.

A solar canopy

The canopy doubles as shade for the parking area and as a small generating station, feeding the site’s electrical load and offsetting demand during peak hours.

Battery storage that runs off-grid

The battery is the part the co-ops describe as the project’s key benefit. “The utility-scale battery will allow the Prentice Truck and Travel Center to continue operation during an extended outage, helping maintain critical services,” said Jeff Olson, CEO of Price Electric Cooperative. When stored energy is available, the system is designed to operate independently from the grid and keep fuel pumps, the convenience store and EV charging online.

Why the co-ops wanted it

Both cooperatives framed the project as more than a charging stop. Dairyland President & CEO Brent Ridge tied it to the cooperative model itself: “Grant funding helps our cooperative system invest in infrastructure that strengthens the communities we serve,” he said. “We look forward to the value this project will bring to Prentice and northern Wisconsin.”

Olson pointed to resilience as the payoff. “Price Electric is proud to support a project that will enhance both energy resilience and transportation in our community,” he said, adding that the added reliability “will benefit Price Electric members, travelers and emergency response efforts in our service territory.”

The grid-resilience angle

Northern Wisconsin knows what a long outage looks like. Ice storms and straight-line winds routinely drop lines across Price County’s wooded terrain, and rural stretches can wait hours or longer for crews working their way down a long feeder. A travel center that keeps pumping fuel and charging vehicles through that window is infrastructure, not a convenience.

That is why the battery, more than the chargers, may prove the more consequential piece. Fuel pumps and store systems depend on electricity. With an islanded battery, the R Store becomes a functioning waypoint when surrounding homes are dark — useful not only to travelers but to emergency responders moving through the area.

A crossroads for Wisconsin’s EV buildout

Wisconsin has been expanding its charging network on the back of federal money. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, created in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, steered up to $4.155 billion to states to help build charging along designated corridors. Wisconsin restarted its share of that build in November 2025 with $14 million for 26 stations, then in September 2026 announced grants for 42 more fast-charging sites statewide.

Most of that build has clustered along interstate corridors and around the state’s larger cities. Rural junctions like Prentice have been the harder sell, because traffic is thinner and project economics are tougher. A co-op partnership with federal grant support is one way those gaps get closed. This project’s funding traces to a U.S. Department of Energy federal grant opportunity, though the co-ops have not disclosed the amount or the specific program.

What the cooperatives bring to it

Dairyland Power Cooperative is not a small utility. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in La Crosse, it supplies the wholesale electrical requirements and other services for 24 Class A member distribution cooperatives, two Class B members and 27 municipal utilities across the Upper Midwest. Those systems together meet the energy needs of more than 800,000 people. Dairyland delivers power over 3,700 miles of transmission lines and 400 distribution substations spread across a 44,500-square-mile service area.

Price Electric Cooperative is the local member co-op. Founded in 1940, it serves more than 9,700 members across nine counties, from just south of Mellen in the north to Rib Lake in the south, covering roughly 3,500 square miles. Its members are the people the battery is meant to keep powered.

Timeline and what’s next

Construction begins this fall. Completion is expected in summer 2027. Between now and then, the co-ops will build the canopy and battery enclosure and install the chargers, and the R Store’s parking area will be an active job site.

Price County Fun will follow the build as it progresses.

What we know, in short

What: The Prentice Solar EV Hub — four fast EV chargers, a solar canopy and battery storage.
Where: The R Store Truck & Travel Center, Highway 8 and Highway 13, Prentice, Wisconsin.
Who: Dairyland Power Cooperative and Price Electric Cooperative, with the travel center operated by a subsidiary of ARKO Corp. (Nasdaq: ARKO).
Why: To add fast-charging capacity and keep the travel center running during outages.
When: Construction begins fall 2026; completion expected summer 2027.
Funding: A U.S. Department of Energy federal grant opportunity (amount not disclosed).

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