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this week granted the

approval to install what the state agency has described as the "largest solar highway project in the nation, and the largest solar project at a safety rest area in the world."

Once operational, the solar panels at the Baldock rest area along northbound Interstate 5 just south of

will produce approximately 1.9 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy each year, according to ODOT. That would produce more than enough energy to power both the northbound and southbound Baldock rest stops as well as lighting at the nearby I-5 interchange with Oregon 551.

A test project using thin-film solar panels could be installed nearby in the future, ODOT officials said.

The project will be the agency's second solar highway project. It will produce substantially more power than the agency's

. That project generates about 130,000 kilowatt-hours annually.

Solar highway projects are intended to meet ODOT's goal of using only renewable energy to power its statewide consumption by 2025.

All of the labor and materials for the project will be from Oregon sources, according to ODOT's application. The solar panels will be manufactured by

in Hillsboro, and the energy inverters will be manufactured by

of Bend.

The solar panels would occupy 6.5 acres at the 27-acre rest area, which was constructed in the 1960s. The property is zoned for exclusive farm use.

Clackamas County hearings officer Ken Helm approved the conditional-use permit for the project this week.

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