'eHighway' Pilot to Deliver Clean Air for Southern California Ports

Nate Berg reports that the eHighway experiment in Southern California is "being built along a mile of the [Alameda] corridor to test how highly polluting diesel truck traffic could instead run on emission-free electric power."

"If successful, this demonstration could offer a solution to pollution-related problems along the Alameda Corridor and other high-traffic roadways all over the world." 

The $13 million "electrified catenary system" is a result of a contract between Siemens and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. According to Berg, the eHighway "will run along the outside lanes of both sides of the road, sort of like the overhead wires that provide power to electric buses, trolleys, and trains in cities."

"SCAQMD will then conduct a yearlong test of the system using up to four different trucks, each with a different engine type and fuel source."