A solar trail?

Stimulus money could fund a trail highlighting the solar highway project on I-205; but many residents already object

By Kara Hansen

The West Linn Tidings, Nov 5, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

SUBMITTED PHOTO / CITY OF WEST LINN

A rendering shows the view of what the I-205 solar highway project would look like from Salamo Road.

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Plans for a trail highlighting a proposed solar highway project could move ahead thanks to $250,000 in federal stimulus money.

The West Linn City Council on Monday will consider accepting the funds for the “design and study of the proposed Oak Savanna Trail,” also known as the solar highway trail.

The money would come through the Oregon Department of Transportation, which is planning a utility-scale solar-generation project on a hillside below the Barrington Heights neighborhood and just off Interstate 205.

Although the trail and solar highway projects are separate as far as the city and ODOT are concerned, both have sparked controversy among West Linn residents, many of whom say they support renewable energy but don’t want the spectacle – or a new bike and pedestrian pathway – in their backyards.

If built, the solar highway would stretch rows of photovoltaic panels 2,000 feet across a benched, south-facing hillside on state-owned land near an old, unused rest area overlooking the freeway just north of 10th Street. The project is estimated to produce as much as 3 megawatts of power each year, enough to offset one-sixth of the energy now used by ODOT to light the area’s highway system.

The planned trail would run above it, from Imperial Drive to Salamo Road “and beyond,” according to the city. Two overlook points would provide views down the hillside to the solar arrays.

Steve Garner, recently elected president of the Barrington Heights Neighborhood Association, said it’s not just his neighbors who are concerned.

“There are a lot of people who are very concerned in other neighborhoods,” he said, pointing to the installation’s potential environmental impact as one reason.

While it’s now home to heavy-duty equipment, wood debris and gravel piles, the site sits close to crucial wildlife habitat in land recently acquired for protection, known as the White Oak Savanna, and the Camassia Natural Area, preserved by the Nature Conservancy.

In addition, Garner said questions have been raised about the unique business model used to finance such projects.

The state would rely on tax credits, accelerated depreciation and utility incentives to finance the installation; that would require working with a private entity such as PGE, because ODOT has no tax liability. The private company would end up owning, operating and maintaining the installation, which would be financed with public subsidies.

Garner pointed to recent news reports revealing such tax breaks and subsidies have cost Oregonians millions of dollars more than the government’s initial estimates.

“In terms of tax dollars, these things are more expensive than we thought,” he said. “And the ODOT project is a massive use of money. Financially it’s a disaster.”

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