Portland equips itself for electric vehicles

A coalition of government officials, carmakers, academics, and local utilities is trying to integrate all forms of electric transportation into Oregon's largest city.

The New York Times says Portland is equipping itself for a variety of forms of electrically-powered transportation:

Portland has a dense street-car and light-rail network, and the city has the country’s highest per-capita ownership of Toyota Prius hybrids, according to George Beard, a manager in the Office of Research and Strategic Partnerships at Portland State University.

Portland’s embrace of all things electric is one reason why Toyota chose it as one of the cities where it is testing its new plug-in hybrid Prius, which is expected to be introduced in 2012. Green Lite, a local start-up, is creating a plug-in hybrid prototype that it says gets 100 miles per gallon. Eaton, an automotive supplier and infrastructure company, plans to build fast chargers at its plant in Wilsonville, south of Portland.... 

On one block of downtown, power lines buried beneath the street "will provide the electricity for eight chargers made by seven different companies," The Times says. "Drivers pay normal parking rates, and the electricity for their vehicles is free, subsidized for two years by Portland State University."

Although Portland has the advantage of access to clean hydropower from the Columbia River, some readers may come away from the article wondering whether electric cars are as big an advance as the newspaper seems to assume. The article doesn't examine whether car-dependence in itself—regardless of the power source—may be a problem for cities.