T HE C OLUMBIA P RESS
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Coming to highway near you: electrically powered big rigs
A plan to create a clean
transit corridor supporting
electric-powered big rigs
would have 27 charging sta-
tions built along Interstate 5
through California, Oregon
and Washington.
During the next decade,
electricity could power as
many as 25 percent of the
medium-duty trucks and 5
percent of the heavy freight
haulers in the three states,
according to the West Coast
Clean Transit Corridor Initia-
tive.
The initiative is a study
commissioned by a collabora-
tion of utility companies, in-
cluding Pacific Power.
“The future of Oregon’s
transportation is electric, and
utilities have an essential role
to play in building the infra-
structure needed to support
a cleaner energy future,” said
Aaron Milano, a manager at
Portland General Electric.
The report, released in
June, recommends expand-
ing state, federal or private
programs that provide fund-
ing for transportation electri-
fication, which could further
accelerate electric truck adop-
tion and expand economic
opportunities
constructing
charging sites.
Portland General Electric
and Pacific Power are develop-
ing infrastructure programs
that support nonresidential
electric vehicle charging, but
more support will be needed
Courtesy Volvo Trucks North America
An electric concept truck by Volvo. Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact
Green Heavy Transport Solutions) is a public-private partnership
working to transform freight operations.
to reach levels identified in
the study and meet state cli-
mate goals.
Transportation is the larg-
est contributor to greenhouse
gas emissions in Oregon,
To learn more
To read the full study or
parts of it, visit westcoast-
cleantransit.com.
making the electrification of
freight transportation a criti-
cal part of meeting the state’s
climate goals.
The study’s final report pro-
poses a phased approach to
electrifying the I-5 corridor.
The first phase would
involve installing the 27
charging sites along I-5 at 50-
mile intervals for medium-du-
ty electric vehicles, such as
delivery vans, by 2025.
By 2030, 14 of the sites
would be expanded to accom-
modate electric big rigs as
well.
Of the 27 proposed sites,
five are in Oregon.
College nursing programs forced to get creative
Portland Community
College came up with an
innovative way to run its
nursing program during
social distancing re-
quirements brought on
by COVID-19.
The nursing program
moved entirely online
using software that al-
lows its students to care
for actor patients in real
time.
The pivot has allowed
students to continue
training, graduate on
time and find jobs in the A screen shot of a nursing scenario
health-care industry.
students might face.
Rather than attending
clinical experiences to prac- cent of traditional clinical ex-
tice direct patient care, stu- perience.
dents engage in virtual sim-
“This will be different
ulation called “ATI Real-Life learning, but it will be no less
Clinical Reasoning” scenar- valuable,” said PCC Nursing
ios, which were approved by Program Director Heather
the Oregon State Board of Reynolds.
Nursing.
“Not all students get the op-
These scenarios were used portunity to work with a pa-
in the National Council of tient experiencing chest pain,
State Boards of Nursing for example, so combining
study, which concluded that virtual scenarios with tradi-
simulation can be effectively tional clinical experiences
substituted for up to 50 per- may give students a breadth
of experience they may
not have otherwise got-
ten.”
The scenarios are quite
lifelike, allowing student
nurses to make indepen-
dent decisions in a safe
environment, Reynolds
added.
Students get immediate
feedback on their choices
and are able to go back
and see what would hap-
pen if they made differ-
ent choices.
Nursing students at
Clatsop Community Col-
lege and across the state
are using similar training
methods.
Even before COVID-19,
there was a high demand for
nurses in Oregon. With the
pandemic, the need has sky-
rocketed.
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