Oregon’s I-5 Becomes EV Charging Mecca

[stevedeshazer]

http://www.earthtechling.com/2010/10/oregons-i-5-becomes-ev-charging-mecca/

Live in Portland, Oregon? Soon, your electric vehicle will be able to take you as far as the redwoods of northern California, thanks to an extension of the I-5 charging corridor, announced recently by Governor Kulongoski of Oregon. This network of fast chargers, developed in partnership with Ecotality’s The EV Project, will now extend from Eugene south to the California border, creating a system of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along the entire length of Interstate 5 in Oregon.

In order to accomplish this, ECOtality worked closely with its Oregon Advisory Team and area stakeholders—including Pacificorp, it’s latest EV Project partner—to complete deployment guidelines and develop maps with potential charging site locations and information regarding population density. These maps take into consideration a variety of factors, including transportation routes, employment centers and zoning.

This expansion comes hot on the heels of ECOtality unveiling its infrastructure plans for northwestern Oregon, which include potential locations for more than 1,100 publicly available charging stations. Now, thanks to support from local area stakeholders, including the Rogue Valley Clean Cities Coalition, and PacifiCorp, those plans have been extended through central and southwestern Oregon as well. As part of the plan, ECOtality will place approximately 20 stations in Medford and Ashland, providing publicly available charging stations for electric vehicles slated to arrive in area showrooms after January 2011.

“Our vision for Oregon is to create an electrified highway so that Oregonians, and our visitors, can travel throughout our state on business and leisure using the next generation of clean, electric vehicles,” said Governor Ted Kulongoski, in a statement. “With the partnership of the federal government, our utility companies, local governments and private companies like ECOtality, we are quickly turning that vision into a reality.” Federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help to fund Oregon’s 1-5 fast charging corridor. According to ECOtality, Oregon currently leads the West Coast in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

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Every state should want something like this.

Why not?

[LWolf]

1. Glad to hear it. nt

[NBachers]

2. Okay California, you're next in line

[shanti]

16. i do believe

that there have been EV commercials on teevee.

[MrsCorleone]

3. I'm so jealous. Good for Oregon! nt

[toddwv]

4. Wow...what's going on in Oregon?

They decriminalized marijuana possessions of less than 1oz 3 years ago (not the first time they tried that) and at least one city is decriminalizing other drugs. Now they are helping shuffle off the chains of the oil industry. Moving right along.

Oh wait, Oregon is a solidly blue state. Way to go Oregon. States like you put the progress in progressive!

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Most all the entrepreneurial EV activity is happening in Oregon. n/t

[OutNow]

6. Great Article

Just one more reason I like living in Oregon after 25 years living in Texas. Try reading this same article but substitute "Texas" for "Oregon" and "Dallas" for "Portland". Nope, can't do it, can you. I couldn't either.

[DemoTex]

7. Oregon SO rocks!

I'm sad to see Oregon in my rearview mirror, but I'll be back next fire season (mid-May).

Mac
(from Kingman, AZ, tonight)

[Hannah Bell]

9. unemployment rate = 10.6%. yep, rocking.

[DemoTex]

15. Hannah, you know darn well that is NOT what I am talking about.

Have you even seen any of my posts from the Oregon outback this summer? If you had, I think you would have caught the spirit of what I mean.

Bend IS blighted, economically. That doesn't squelch the vibrancy of the place. Bend rocks on, in spite of it's reputation for "Poverty with a View."

The natural beauty of Oregon rocks, and it ain't got a damn thing to do with the unemployment rates (and I think your figures are low). It is fixed in the land: consider Smith Rock or Fort Rock (pardon the puns).

October 9 and 23 are big layoff dates for many USFS firefighters in Oregon (including me on 10/9). But most of these dedicated folks will make do (ski patrol, odd jobs, unemployment, etc) until next fire season. In May of next year these fire fighters will again risk their lives to protect our public lands - your Pacific Northwest - for extremely low wages. They love their job and they love the forests: that rocks big time!

A high unemployment rate does not - per se - make a place a bad place. It is the unemployment rate that is bad, not the people or the place or their ability to rock on. No, Oregon in general and Bend in particular rock!

[4lbs]

8. See what happens when you have a Democratic Governor actually use the stimulus money as it was

intended?

The infrastructure money designed for projects like this was actually used.

Imagine that.

Oh, and here's some more of what Oregon's awesome Governor did:


http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/bio.shtml

<snip>
When Kulongoski was sworn in as governor in January 2003, Oregon faced a dramatic budget deficit. The governor responded by changing the way Oregon budgets, building a principle-based budget designed to establish fiscal stability while delivering measurable returns, including reforming the Public Employees Retirement System to save taxpayers billions of dollars. He made priority investments in economic development, workforce training, transportation infrastructure, and arts and culture that helped turned Oregon’s economy around. In his first term, he helped create over 150,000 jobs, attracted over a dozen new major employers to Oregon and substantially reduced the state’s hunger rate.

Winning reelection in 2006, Kulongoski remained committed to ensuring every Oregon child receives the educational opportunity to succeed and ensuring every student can access higher education or vocational training. In the 2007 legislative session, he championed record investments in pre-K-12 and post-secondary education, including the largest dedication of funding for financial aid in the state’s history. Kulongoski also took the lead on renewable energy by establishing a new standard that will require 25 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025. He continued his fight against global warming by requiring greenhouse gas levels be reduced to 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Governor Kulongoski also led the charge to create a Rainy Day fund – the first in the state – so that Oregon is prepared to weather the next economic downturn without being forced to make drastic cuts to critical services for Oregon’s children and families.

For the 2009 legislation session, even as the state faced tough budget decisions due to the global recession, Kulongoski ensured that Oregon continued to make key investments for the future. Kulongoski passed the state’s largest long-term investment in transportation infrastructure, putting thousands of Oregonians to work, and legislation to provide every Oregon child with access to health care. Kulongoski also passed several bills that encourage greater energy efficiency and investments in renewable energy, as well as signing into the law the state’s first dedicated revenue source for the Rainy Day Fund.

<snip>


Too bad every state doesn't have a Governor like him.

[Hannah Bell]

10. 10.6% unemployment.

Oregon Poverty Rises, Median Income Falls
Uninsured Ranks Also on the Rise

The poverty data was not the only bad news in today's ACS data. When adjusted for inflation, Oregon's median household income fell significantly in 2009 to $48,457, down from $49,714 in 2008 and $50,393 in 2007.

http://www.ktvz.com/news/25197880/detail.html

[4lbs]

11. I don't get what your point is.

He shouldn't have had the EV stations built then?

I guess by your logic, if it doesn't create a million jobs right now, it's not worth doing?

[Warren DeMontague]

12. The point is, if you leave a bowl of wheaties lying out

some people will feel compelled to pee in it, no matter what.

[Hannah Bell]

14. that so far, it hasn't been that stimulating, since oregon's UE is higher than the national average.

how many people have, or will have, electric cars in the next ten years?

a narrow slice of the population.

i'd rather the money went into rail, especially since it's the i-5 corridor we're talking about. that would benefit more people.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Great news.

:kick: