If you think you’re seeing more litter along highways in Clark County, you’re not crazy. According to a story in the Columbian, Washington DOT is having trouble keeping up with the mess. DOT tells the paper its road crews are still busy with repairs from the hard winter. Plus, money is tight and they’ve got less to spend on hiring prison crews to pick up litter.
In Eastern Oregon, they’re hoping to get the money for an interesting plan to prevent water shortages. It’s based on the premise that during the winter, the Columbia River has plenty of water. But farmers need that water during the summer, when the river runs lower. Called the Umatilla Aquifer Recharge, the plan is tap the Columbia during the winter and add it to the aquifer so there will be enough to pump for the irrigation season. The project needs about $2.5 million and local water officials are concerned they won’t get the money because of the state revenue shortfall. For more, see the Eastern Oregonian.
A Washington state park across the river from Astoria may be mothballed because of budget problems. Fort Columbia State Park is two miles west of the U.S. 101 bridge. It’s mostly a day use park, but also includes some vacation rental homes. Mothballing means the park would still be open to people who enter on foot, but parking lots, restrooms and other buildings will be closed. Washington’s Parks and Recreation Department faces budget cuts of almost $23 million dollars. For more, see the Daily Astorian.
Three months after flipping the switch on Oregon’s “Solar Highway”, the project is already being declared a success.
The solar array near I-5 and I-205 in Tualatin. Courtesy ODOT
The solar highway is actually a solar interchange. Last year, an 8,000 square foot solar system was installed where I-5 and I-205 meet in Tualatin. During the day, the panels pump electricity into the grid. At night, the same amount of electricity is returned to power the lights at the interchange. The system went online mid-December 2008.
In a press release, PGE says the solar panels produce about 112,000 kilowatt hours a year, or 28% of the total electricity used to light the intersection. The utility says this should put to rest any doubts that Oregon doesn’t get enough sun in the winter to generate solar power.
The $1.3 million project is a joint venture between PGE, ODOT and US Bank. ODOT has plans to build more projects like this one, but the work has been delayed because of the state’s revenue shortfalls.
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Imagine reducing your commuting costs up to 90%. At the same time, you’re helping lower carbon emissions by 27% and cutting oil imports in half.
And none of this involves riding a bike or taking mass transit. You’d be driving to work in the privacy of your own car.
Sound too good to be true? Maybe not. The solution involves a massive switch from gasoline powered cars to plug-in hybrids.
According to Dr. Michael Kintner-Meyer with the Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Washington, some 43% to 73% of the nation’s gas powered cars and light trucks could be replaced with plug-ins.
If that happened, Kintner-Meyer says it could lead to dramatic improvements in carbon emissions and oil consumption. And if we handled it right, we wouldn’t have to build new power plants or transmission lines to keep the plug-ins powered.
Kinter-Meyer says the key to making this work is charging up the plug-ins during overnight hours, when demand for electricity is lowest. Not only would we get those environmental benefits, but the car batteries could be incorporated into the grid and help provide some stability.
News of Kinter-Meyer’s research came to us from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. The Council has been studying how the increased demand for electricity from hybrids would impact the power supply in the region.
According to the Council, the demand for power from plug-ins and electric vehicles in the Northwest is expected to reach 25 megawatts by 2020. That added demand will increase power plant emissions by 1 million tons . But factoring how much less pollution we’d be getting from automobiles, the Council says the net result would be 6 million fewer tons of carbon gases.
The headlines will scream about higher gas taxes and vehicle fees, but there’s much more than that in Governor Kulongoski’s brand new plan for transportation in the state.
There’s a lot of green ideas in it too. The Governor wants to move the state in the direction of more electric vehicles, reducing congestion, and making people pay for fees and insurance based on how many miles they drive.
Let’s look at each of these areas.
Electric Vehicles: The plan calls for spending $8 million a year on infrastructure for electric vehicles. He wants to phase out tax credits for hybrids and increase them on vehicles that produce less carbon. He also wants to create a new category for EV’s. Right now, so called low-speed neighborhood vehicles can’t go faster than 25-mph. He wants to create a medium speed category which would make these kinds of cars more practical for people who want to travel beyond the neighborhood.
Pay Per Miles Driven: Imagine that someday you won’t have to pay a gas tax. Instead, you’ll be charged a fee based on how many miles you drive each year. ODOT tested a pilot program not too long ago. Kulongoski wants the state to work with automakers to develop the technology that’s needed to put such a program into place. The governor says the state can’t rely on gas taxes forever, and wants to replace it with a pay per miles program.
He wants to extend tax credits for pay-as-you-go car insurance. Instead of paying a flat fee for the year, your premiums could rise and fall based on how many miles you drive. Kulongoski says that people with these types of insurance plans reduce their miles an average 5%-15% a year. They end up saving an average 25% on premiums.
Other Ideas: The plan calls for setting up a pilot program to test congestion pricing. In other words, you’ll have to pay higher fees for driving during rush hours.
It sets aside money for non-highway funding, such as light rail.
You’ve probably seen his proposals for raising vehicle registration fees. Among them, a $100 charge for the first time a car gets an Oregon title. That would be reduced to $50 if the car gets more than 30 miles-per-gallon.
It also calls for planning to reduce miles driven by people in metropolitan areas, but cuts rural areas some slack because often have to drive farther for goods, services and jobs.
For more details about the plan visit this link, it opens up a PDF file.
Jobs and Transportation Act 2009
