Solar Power Helps Light an Interstate Interchange
Published Feb 13, 2009
An Oregon highway is in the fast lane.
The country’s first “solar highway” project, dedicated in January 2009, is producing 28 percent of the power needed to light the Interstate 205-Interstate 5 interchange south of Portland. The Oregon Department of Transportation teamed up with Portland General Electric and US Bank to install – on a slice of right-of-way – an array of solar panels the length of two football fields.
“Even in the middle of the night, with so few motorists, [lighting] has to be on,” says James Whitty, DOT’s manager of innovative partnerships. “The more traffic you have, the more lighting there is. Urban areas with a lot of traffic [require] a lot of lighting.”
Oregon officials want the state’s agencies to use renewable resources like solar power to meet electricity needs.
Proponents say this project aims to show that a public-private partnership can work and serve as a model for others along Oregon’s highways.
The idea is not so much about saving money – Oregon will pay the same rate for power generated by the 600 solar panels as it does for other electricity – but more about reducing carbon dioxide emissions and setting a standard for innovation.
Because the project involved a private equity partner, US Bank, it was eligible for state and federal tax incentives. PGE will manage the $1.3 million project through a new corporation, Sun Way I LLC.
The panels will export power into the grid during the day, and PGE will feed it back to the lights at night, says Joe Barra, the utility’s director of customer energy resources.
Oregon’s goal is to issue requests for proposals in 2009 and secure financing to build additional solar arrays along some of the state’s 16,000 miles of public rights-of-way, Whitty says.
The solar highway is getting national and international attention. Whitty and PGE officials began fielding calls from other states months before the switch was flipped.
More details about the project are available at www.oregonsolarhighway.com.
Story by Pamela Coyle
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