June 2012: All about Electric Vehicles

June in Portland is always a busy month, with dozens of fairs and events to entertain residents. This June several exciting events demonstrated the progress our state has made as a leader in deploying electric vehicles and the promising future that lies ahead. The CUB Policy Center was thrilled to take an active role in all three events, connecting with community members and active participants in the electric vehicle movement.

On June 19, the CUB Policy Center partnered with Solar Oregon and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) to host a Science Pub at the Mission Theater exploring the dynamic connection between the electrical grid, solar energy, and electric vehicles. (The Science Pub program is a free speaker series focused on science and innovation organized by OMSI and held at McMennamin’s pubs across the state.) The talk, entitled “Driving on Sunshine: The Electrical Grid, Solar Energy, and Electric Vehicles”, was presented by renewable energy professional Cam Cameron. Cam provided pubgoers an interesting (and humorous) look into the history of the electrical grid and how solar energy and electric vehicles can be intelligently connected to the grid with new technologies like the smart grid. Before and after Cam’s presentation, Pub attendees had the opportunity to see electric vehicles up close, including four Nissan LEAFs, a Tesla Roadster, a plug-in Honda Insight Hybrid, a Fisker Karma, and a Mistubishi i. The owners of these vehicles were happy to put their cars on display in the Theater’s parking lot and answered questions people had about the ownership experience.

We greatly enjoyed collaborating with Solar Oregon, OMSI, and Cam to put on this great event, which was both informative and fun! We look forward to hosting more events like this one in the future.

The fun didn’t stop there! On Friday, June 22, Emmaline Pohnl and Gordon Feighner attended EV Roadmap 5 at the Portland World Trade Center. Bringing together electric vehicle enthusiasts, owners, and industry leaders, the conference is part of an ongoing series organized by PSU and PGE to explore how Oregon is advancing the electrification of transportation. By the end of the day, we had learned about the economic and operational advantages of using electric vehicles in fleets and companies active in that expanding market. We heard about the progress of Energizing Oregon, the state-wide planning effort launched last fall to create a deployment and marketing plan to increase electric vehicle adoption in the state. The CUB Policy Center has been active in this effort and, in particular, our contributions to the Outreach and Marketing group were publicly recognized. After listening to many passionate speakers and speaking with other attendees dedicated to furthering the deployment of electric vehicles, we left the day feeling optimistic. Although much work remains to be done, the well-attended EV Roadmap 5 illustrates the growing momentum behind electric vehicles in Oregon and shows how we are making strides toward a cleaner transportation system.

The week wrapped up on Saturday, June 23rd with EV Live, a “ride and drive” event held at the Portland International Raceway (PIR) in conjunction with a electric motorcycle race. Attendees had the chance to see the latest models of electric cars, scooters, and e-bikes, including the one-wheeled Ryno electric scooter. Thanks to the generosity of local automobile dealerships, people also could test drive several different electric vehicle models, including the Nissan LEAF, the Chevy Volt, and the Mistubishi i. Electric vehicles zipped quietly along the test drive track all day, stopping to “re-fuel” by plugging in to a normal 120V outlet on the outside of one of PIR’s buildings.

The CUB Policy Center staffed a table at the event, answering questions attendees had about electric vehicle technology, the infrastructure build-out in the state, and the environmental impacts of “going electric.” A big thank you to theColumbia-Williamette Clean Cities Coalition for sharing their booth with us!

Where will the CUB Policy Center’s electric vehicle program be in July? It’ll be a busy month for us – see below for a list of events we are participating in. We hope to see you at one or more of these great events!

Sundown at Ecotrust: Concert Series and Innovation
Thursdays in July, 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Ecotrust Parking Lot, 721 NW 9th, Portland
Come for great music, to learn what Oregon’s most innovative sustainability organizations are up to, and to visit our booth! We’re partnering with EV Roadmap to share information on electric vehicles and display an electric vehicle.

Wilkes Neighborhood Movie Night
Friday, July 13th, 6:30 pm, movie begins at dusk
Wilkes Park, 3655 NE 154th Ave
We’ll have a table and an electric vehicle on display for movie goers to check out before the free show! Kid-friendly “Dolphin Tales” will be playing.

OEVA’s EV Celebration
Saturday, July 14th, 9:30 am – 5 pm
Pioneer Square, Downtown Portland
EV Celebration Day is a summer event that OEVA organizes to display electric vehicles and educate the general public about their benefits. We’ll be talking about the benefits of electric vehicles from our environmental and consumer perspective at our table!

Free Screening of Revenge of the Electric Car
Sunday, July 15th, 6 pm
Bagdad Theater Pub, 3702 SE Hawthorne
Join Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen for an electric vehicle car show and a free screening of Revenge of the Electric Car. Starting at 6 p.m. come kick the tires of a variety of electric vehicles at the show, and learn from experts about what is happening across Oregon to jump start the vehicle electrification revolution. The featured film, Revenge of the Electric Car starts at 7 p.m. and following the screening there will be an interactive panel discussion on busting the myths of electric vehicle ownership.

To learn more about our electric vehicle program and get alerts about upcoming events, visit the CUB Policy Center homepage. We’ll keep you up to date on all the opportunities we have to connect with you out and about this summer!

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