By John DeFore

Though it was an odd thing to call a “groundbreaking” — the act involved no shovel stuck in soil, but rather the placement of a panel on a metal stand — a ceremony alongside an Oregon highway this month inaugurated what Governor Ted Kulongoski calls “the nation’s first solar highway project.”

Speaking in a promotional video made at the event, Kulongoski was joined by Transportation Commission chair Gail Achterman, who explained that the solar panel being mounted was the first of 594 that will soon cover 8,000 square feet alongside the right-of-way at the interchange of Interstates 5 and 205 south of Portland. Achterman said those panels would generate roughly a third of the energy needed to power the street lamps, signage, and other electric devices at the interchange.

No batteries are involved: Power will flow from the panels into Portland General Electric’s grid during the day, and PGE will “return an equivalent amount of power” at night when it’s needed. This installation is the first step in an ambitious plan to generate up to 2 megawatts of power on land owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

A proudly “all Oregon” project (with materials, design and installation coming from local companies), it will chip away at the electric needs of the state’s transportation system, which amount to 45 million kilowatt-hours each year. But it does rely on one factor beyond the state’s control, as ODOT’s announcement admits near the end:

“ODOT is acutely aware of the Dec. 31, 2008, sunsetting of the 30 percent federal investment tax credit; a successful procurement is dependent on extension of this tax credit.” (While public agencies aren’t taxed, their private financiers are and would qualify for the tax credit.)

Congress has tried numerous times to pass bills that would extend tax credits for green energy projects, but without success.

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