I sure do love my EcoTech Daily 5. It’s always got some tidbit of gee-whiz information that brightens my day and adds to my knowledge bank. So I was thrilled to see Portland featured in yesterday’s round up with a fun announcement by one of our local utilities and a BEF partner, Portland General Electric (PGE).

Apparently, PGE is number 1 for residential renewable power sales, and Portland has the highest per capita ownership of hybrid cars in the United States, so they’re anticipating great demand here for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (aka PHEVs for those of you who like acronyms) when manufacturers roll them out in 2010, and they’re getting ready with plug-in charging stations powered by “100% PGE renewable energy.”

In fact, they’re building about a dozen around town over the next few months “to help develop and test the transportation infrastructure needed to support plug-in vehicles.” and “help accelerate the adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles, while providing current owners with more convenient plug-in options around town.” They’re using smart meter technology so plug-in vehicles powering up may be able to connect to the electrical grid and provide power during peak load times.

The first station opened July 29 in the PGE headquarters parking lot and charging up there, or at any of these test stations, is free. Most PHEVs on the roads today are conversions of standard hybrids, and as I understand it there aren’t a lot of them, so I can’t imagine today’s demand will break the bank, and of course, there’s a good measure of self-interest at work here, but I think it’s a cool offer nonetheless, and PGE should be commended for their leadership and service to the Portland community. It’s terrific to see them out ahead of the crowd and planning for new technology. Read more about this project if you like on the PGE website.