Adams: Make Portland a test center for electric cars. Yes!

I’m with Portland Mayor-elect Sam Adams in his vision of Portland as a test center for electric cars, and beyond that as an assembly center for electric cars. He also seems to be evolving a vision of how a rising China can contribute to Portland’s future. I applaud that too.

The Oregonian ran an article “Sam Adams: Mayor-elect focuses on job creation: public works, green-collar, electric cars” by Ryan Frank (here). Its last two paragraphs go:

But also I want Portland to be a center for electric vehicles. We're working with Nissan, BYD (a Chinese company), Toyota. We're working on what I call Portland's electric street strategy, where we'll have the necessary charging infrastructure in place.

That relates back to the skill set of the manufacturing workers at Freightliner. My goal is to position Portland as the test place for all electric cars that can hopefully lead to component assembly of electric cars in the future. Will we be the place where the metal doors are stamped out? No. We'll be the place where the metal doors come to Portland with the other big body parts and that's where the final assembly comes together.

Several comments:

(1)   Expanding the use of electric cars, and hybrids, are high on my list of what we can do in Oregon to get the US off of dependence on foreign oil and of supporting petro-states. Depending on the power source fueling the electric cars, they can also reduce greenhouse gases. We should pursue hybrid and electric car with all sensible vigor.

(2)   Pursuing an electric street strategy will be interesting, exciting, good for our innovative green branding, and could generate economic growth.

(3)   What kind of brain power does the electric street strategy require? Urban designers? Electrical engineers? Economists? Others? Does Portland have the right mix of these experts? Do they talk to each other? What role can higher ed play?

(4)   Are there economic opportunities for Portland in developing, producing and selling the infrastructure of an electric street strategy? Who makes the charging stations and other systems? Can we improve on them? See here for one of the marketed charging systems, and here for what China is doing..

(5)   A robust connection to China will be key to an electric street strategy. Time to beef up PSU’s and  Portland Public Schools’ Mandarin and study abroad in China programs.

Go Sam!!!

Comments

[louboutin]

Expanding the use of electric cars, and hybrids, are high on my list of what we can do in Oregon to get the US off of dependence on foreign oil and of supporting petro-states. Depending on the power source fueling the electric cars, they can also reduce greenhouse gases. We should pursue hybrid and electric car with all sensible vigor.

[Pandora Charms]

A robust connection to China will be key to an electric street strategy. Time to beef up PSU’s and Portland Public Schools’ Mandarin and study abroad in China programs.

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But also I want Portland to be a center for electric vehicles. We're working with Nissan, BYD (a Chinese company), Toyota. We're working on what I call Portland's electric street strategy, where we'll have the necessary charging infrastructure in place.

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That relates back to the skill set of the manufacturing workers at Freightliner. My goal is to position Portland as the test place for all electric cars that can hopefully lead to component assembly of electric cars in the future. Will we be the place where the metal doors are stamped out? No. We'll be the place where the metal doors come to Portland with the other big body parts and that's where the final assembly comes together.

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Pursuing an electric street strategy will be interesting, exciting, good for our innovative green branding, and could generate economic growth.