On December 19, 2008, the nation’s first solar highway project started feeding clean, renewable energy into the electricity grid, and the first Oregon Solar Highway project has been operating seamlessly ever since. The 104 kilowatt (dc) ground-mounted solar array, made up of 594 solar panels, is situated at the interchange of Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 south of Portland, Oregon, and offsets over one-third of the energy needed for freeway illumination at the site.
Public-Private Partnerships Make It Work
The project was developed through an innovative, first-in-the-nation public-private partnership between the Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland General Electric, and U.S. Bank as PGE’s tax equity partner. Through the use of state and federal renewable energy tax credits, accelerated depreciation, and grants offered through the Energy Trust of Oregon and PGE’s Clean Wind Fund, this award-winning partnership benefits PGE customers, including the state of Oregon. The Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs, which represent the green power produced by the solar array, are retired on behalf of PGE’s customers, including the state and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
While the project sits on the transportation system right of way, it is not owned by ODOT. Portland General Electric owns and operates this solar power plant. Solar energy produced by the array feeds into the grid during the day, in effect running the meter backwards for energy needed at night to light the interchange through a Solar Power Purchase Agreement with PGE.
The success of the nation's first solar highway project led ODOT and PGE to explore further opportunities to put renewable energy onto Oregon’s grid and add value to the public’s transportation system right of way, and in 2011, construction began on the
French Prairie Solar Station.
These projects have sparked imaginations across the nation and the globe. To date, 36 states and 15 countries have contacted ODOT for assistance in developing projects and/or programs.