US governors picture eco-friendly fuelling stations along western route

Governors in Washington, Oregon and California are considering a plan to create a 'green freeway'

McClatchy newspapers
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 March 2009 14.47 GMT

Washington state governor Chris Gregoire and her counterparts in Oregon and California are considering a plan they hope would help transform the Pacific north-west's Interstate 5 from a freeway ruled by gasoline burners to a haven for eco-friendly cars and trucks.
The three governors envision a series of alternative fuelling stations stretching from the Canadian border to Mexico, creating what has been dubbed a "green freeway".
As the plan stands, motorists eventually would be able to pull off at I-5 rest stops for more than a cup of coffee and roadside relief: They also would be able to charge, or swap out, their electric-vehicle batteries or fill their tanks with biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen or compressed natural gas.
The idea is drawing opposition from interest groups that say the state-approved stations would compete with nearby private businesses.
But supporters say services for alternative-fuel vehicles are often tough to find near the 1,382-mile (2,223-kilometre) interstate route. If approved, the project could begin in Washington as early as this coming summer.
It would mark the first time US drivers could travel a long stretch of freeway with easy access to alternative fuel.
"We originally coined it the [British Columbia]-to-Baja green highway," said Jeff Doyle, director of public-private partnerships at the Washington state department of transportation. "The three states are trying to find out if we can all march forward together."
The fuelling stations and battery swap-out docks would be the first businesses allowed by US west coast states to operate at rest stops, Doyle said. To help companies with their initial costs, they would not be charged rent until they started turning a profit, he said. The move would need to clear layers of local and federal approval.
Supporters say the plan would fit with the nationwide push for green jobs and alternative-energy development, and put the states in line for some of the $15bn (£10.8bn) in federal stimulus money dedicated to energy-related programmes.
Marty Brown, Gregoire's legislative liaison, said Gregoire, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski are beginning to figure out how to make the plan work. The three briefly discussed the idea last month during a meeting in Washington, DC.
Doyle said he has been working with the Oregon and California transportation departments for months in developing a way to "partner with next-generation fuel providers to spur private investment".
He said Oregon and California are not likely to start on their ends of the project as soon as Washington, which also is looking at setting up alternative-fuel stations at park-and-ride lots.
Jim Whitty, manager of the Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding office in Oregon, said his state wants to push forward with the rest-stop fuelling stations but is tied up by opposition from the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (Natso) and national gasoline distribution groups.
Natso contends the stations would draw potential customers from truck stops, hotels, restaurants and other businesses near rest stops.
Doyle said he's slogging through the legalities of getting the federal government to approve commercial development alongside an interstate. He said that if the plan is approved, the rest stops would not resemble some east coast rest areas that feature fast-food restaurants and souvenir shops.
Doyle said the state wouldn't want alternative-fuel stations to disrupt rest-area traffic, so contract companies would have to provide small, low-profile setups. Doyle added that rest-stop fuelling sites would be self-service and likely to have little or no on-site staffing.
There already are dozens of compressed natural gas, ethanol and biodiesel stations in Washington and Oregon, but the closest hydrogen station is at Humboldt State University in northern California.