91视频

Travelers to the last rest area on Interstate 5 before hitting Portland can visit the country’s largest solar highway project.

The Baldock Solar Station, a 1.75-megawatt solar array with nearly 7,000 solar panels stretching across seven acres, opened to the public Aug. 23. The site just south of Wilsonville on northbound Interstate 5 features information kiosks where people can learn about solar power. They can also visit a sustainable community garden bordering the site created by experts from Oregon State University’s Master Gardeners program.

The $10 million solar array was built by Portland General Electric on land owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation. It sits among farm fields of corn and cabbage and is expected to generate 1.97 million kilowatt-hours of energy each year.

Jim Piro, the president PGE, said that’s the equivalent of 11 percent of ODOT’s need in PGE’s service territory.

鈥淭his solar highway project shows how Oregon is leading the nation in developing innovative, renewable energy sources,鈥� he said when opening the site to the public Aug. 23. 鈥淭he Baldock Solar Station not only educates travelers about the booming solar industry in our state, but showcases what can be accomplished through creative collaboration between public and private partners.鈥�

Matt Garrett, the director of ODOT, added during the opening that this project is the largest of its kind in the nation. “We’re contributing to a strong future in clean, renewable energy resources for Oregon,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s just one example of the kind of forward-thinking approach we can take in transportation – one that brings multiple benefits to Oregonians.鈥�

The array’s 6,994 panels were built by SolarWorld of Hillsboro with inverters provided by Advanced Energy of Bend. All consulting, construction, analysis and other materials were provided by Oregon companies, Piro said.