CUB Kicks off 2014 Community Outreach Season
Posted on March 6, 2014 by Heather Kendall
Tags, Consumers and Utility Customers, Emerging Technologies
On February 28th, 2014, Mt. Hood Skibowl West opened the first electric vehicle fast charger in the US to be located at a ski resort and on federal Forest Service land. Taking place after two cancellations due to a lack of snow on Mt Hood, the grand opening was a day of firsts for the electric vehicle industry, and for me as well. I had my first ride in an electric vehicle from Portland to the big event, and during the trip I watched how the “energy gauge” calculated the miles left on our charge.
The new charger location at Skibowl West completes an important tourism loop for Oregon, running up U.S. Highway 26 from Portland to Government Camp, continuing down Oregon Highway 35 to Hood River, and then along Interstate 84 to Multnomah Falls. Six electric vehicle quick chargers now serve the route, including the stops in Sandy and in Barlow where we “topped off” on the way up to Skibowl West. All in all, the grand opening attracted 21 electric cars and twice that many EV enthusiasts and supporters.
The event was hosted by the Oregon Department of Transportation in conjunction with Mt. Hood Skibowl. Also joining in the celebration were representatives from the Oregon Department of Energy, AeroVironment (charger operator), the U.S. Forest Service, US Senator Jeff Merkley’s office, Portland General Electric, Drive Oregon, Travel Oregon, Nissan USA, Tesla Motors, the Oregon Auto Dealers Association, and the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association. The event also featured special guest speaker Max Baumhefner of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Skibowl West showed their enthusiastic support by providing free lift tickets for night skiing and tubing. The celebration was also highlighted by snowboarders performing crowd pleasing aerial stunts over a 2014 Nissan Leaf, to demonstrate that Oregon winter sports are now easily within range of electric transportation.
As winter wraps up in the Portland area and warmer temperatures begin to make an appearance, the CUB Policy Center now looks forward to getting out to events all over the city. The Mt Hood Charger celebration and our three successful appearances at the Portland Fix-it-Fair over the winter were just the beginning! We look forward to being a part of Earth Day Celebrations and a season full of neighborhood street fairs. Keep your eyes and ears open for the CUB Policy Center spreading the word about energy efficiency policy, climate change solutions, renewable resource implementation, and consumer awareness. We hope to see you out and about this spring and summer for all of the great community events that Portland has to offer. Be sure to check out our calendar for event dates and details!
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04/05/17 | 0 Comments | CUB Kicks off 2014 Community Outreach Season