BEAVERTON, Ore. - A gas station is probably the last place one would think of as being eco-friendly but a new Beaverton Chevron station meets that description.
There are 75 solar panels on its rooftop that the station's owner said can generate enough energy to power the entire service station, and more.
Some of the excess power is sent back to the utility company, and some goes into an electric vehicle charging station, according to owner Bob Barman. The gas station offers electric vehicle drivers a free recharge.
Since we generate more than we can use we're going to give it back to the consumer, Barman said.
All the station's lights are LED, which cuts its energy use by some 70 percent. All of its coolers use geothermal technology.
Drivers fill up under an eco-roof that, according to Barman, will keep about 44,000 gallons of dirty rain water runoff out of area streams and rivers.
The station also offers biodiesel, Barman said, even though it's not a Chevron product.
Just because we re selling fossil fuel doesn't mean we have to be dinosaur thinking, Barman added. I think we need to step forward and Oregon s a great place to educate the rest of the country.
He said he's saving more than $2,000 a month on energy costs and said the savings are passed down to the customers.
If we re going to have fossil fuels, then we need to be part of the solution and not the problem, Barman added.
The station, located at the corner of SW Murray Boulevard and SW Allen Boulevard, is already open to customers but its official grand opening was scheduled for next week.
