Bend-based PV Powered, Inc., the largest manufacturer of solar power inverter technology in the U.S., will provide the inverter for a statewide, solar-power project that aims to power street lights at the Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 interchange in Tualatin.
The $1.3 million project, which basically erects solar panels at a cloverleaf section of the freeway, is the result of a collaboration with Portland General Electric (PGE), US Bank and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), with materials and installation being provided by Oregon-based companies.
PV Powered’s inverter is an integral part of the solar power system. The solar panels that collect sunlight create D/C power, which has to be converted to A/C power for use; the latter current is what a house or a business runs on. PV Powered’s technology does this and connects to the power grid so that any excess power that is generated by the modules can be sold back to PGE and used by consumers and businesses, Erick Petersen, vice president of sales and marketing for PV Powered, told CBN.
“We’re excited to be working with both PGE and our friends at Solar World in Portland on projects right here at home in Oregon,” Petersen said via telephone. “Governor Kulongoski has been hugely supportive of PV Powered and solar energy in general. This being the first project of its kind in the U.S., and the fact that it’s located in Oregon, is great for us to be invovled in.”
The solar-powered project is not a new technology — similar street lights have been in place in Iraq (160 units) and Afghanistan (150 units) for some time — but it is the first solar energy highway installation of its kind in the United States, and will include about 600 panels, according to a press release issued by the governor’s office.
The 104-kilowatt, solar photo-voltaic system, which covers about 8,000 square feet, or roughly the length of two football fields, will produce about 112,000 kilowatt hours per year, or 28 percent of the 400,000 kilowatt hours used to light the Tualatin interchange.
The project is expected to be completed and online this December.
