2008-08-10

Oregon Unveils First Solar Project on a Major U.S. Highway. By Dylan Rivera, The Oregonian, August 7, 2008. "In an attempt to spur the spread of solar power, the Oregon Department of Transportation Thursday unveiled the nation's first solar panel project on a major U.S. highway. At the interchange of Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 near Tualatin, a row of solar panels about five feet wide and two football fields long will start generating electricity by the end of the year. The panels will feed electricity directly to PGE's system-wide grid and account for 28% of the energy needed to power lights that illuminate the highway's sweeping interchange at night... The project will generate less than 1% of the transportation department's annual energy use. But it represents a critical first step in what the department envisions as widespread usage of solar energy... Transportation officials said they rushed to reach an agreement that could be complete by Dec. 31, when [the] 30% federal [solar] tax credit is set to expire [and without which the project would not have been possible]."

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