Greening the Mother Road

Erin Shaw

The Route 66 Alliance recently endorsed the Green Roadway Project’s plans to install a system of roadside charging stations for electric vehicles. The first demonstration took place at the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica, California, where Green Roadway proposes to have solar panels and geothermal and wind devices that “may be used to charge vehicles at charging stations, to run power directly into the grid or to direct power to homes and businesses.” With all the designs patented, the Electric Highway now needs local developers to collaborate with the Department of Transportation to start installing the systems, which are said to have “low incremental cost and high cohesion with existing energy infrastructure.” The public auction of Green Roadway technology, along with the increased urgency to comply with the new energy bill, might make Route 66 the first “Electric Highway.”

 

Image: "Historic Route 66" by Kusine on Flickr courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.