Who is Keith Wilson, the businessman who will be Portland’s next mayor?
Published 8:00 am Wednesday, November 6, 2024
- The electric engine in the Electric Freightliner eCascadia.
The first heavy-duty all-electric Freightliner truck to be put into service in Oregon was celebrated at a Southeast Portland truck yard on Sunday, July 30.
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The 2023 Electric Freightliner eCascadia’s initial assignment was driving dozens of guests around the large service lot at TITAN Freight Systems. They were among dozens of elected and appointed officials, business leaders, environmental activists, workers and family members who attended the morning kick-off party at the sprawling complex at 6201 S.E. Lake Rd.
“These heavy-duty electric trucks are a natural evolution in our journey to be a carbon neutral transportation company. We now have a new zero-emission, lower operating-cost tool to help us get closer to realizing our sustainability goals,” said company President and CEO Keith Wilson, a longtime advocate for reducing fossil fuel emissions in the trucking industry. He is planning to covert his company’s entire fleet to electric trucks.
Others speaking at the event included Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon First District Congresswomen Suzanne Bonamici, Metro President Lynn Peterson, and David Carson, vice president of sales and marketing for Daimler Truck North America, which built the Freightliner eCascadia in Portland.
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“We are excited to partner with TITAN and introduce the first customer eCascadia to Oregon’s roads. Built in our Portland Manufacturing Truck Plant, we are proud to be able to do our part of creating a greener future in the community where we live and work,” Carson said.
Bonamici said converting the transportation sector — including the freight industry — to electricity is necessary to save the world.
“The United Nations chief said we have entered the era of ‘global boiling.’ It is a red alert for the planet and we must take action. Oregon can lead the way,” said Bonamici.
According to Carson, the eCascadia can haul up to 82,000 pounds, go up to 230 miles on a full charge of electricity, and costs around $400,000, which is far more than a diesel-powered equivalent because the technology is so new. Prices will fall when production increases, but, for now, governments and related companies like PGE are offering incentives to encourage the transition. Wilson plans to replace three of his current heavy-duty trucks with Cascadia’s this year, and add an addition three eM2 medium duty all-electric box trucks.
Carson said Freightliner has already sold several of tis electric trucks to companies in other states, including California. TITAN is the first to buy them in Oregon, and he hopes other freight companies in the state will take note and soon follow its example.
Wilson said he worked for four or five years to be ready to begin converting his fleet to electric trucks. His efforts included early conversations with officials at Freightliner’s Electric Mobility Group when the company was first considering building electric trucks. Wilson also urged federal and Oregon elected officials to offer the incentives. When they became available, he was ready to act.
According to Wilson, the programs that made the purchases affordable include:
- A grant from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Diesel Emissions Mitigation Program, which improves air quality and reduces diesel emissions across the state and among vulnerable populations, funded by the state’s share of the U.S. government’s settlement with Volkswagen for intentionally violating clean air standards with its automobile diesel engines. The program covered 75% of equipment and infrastructure costs.
- Portland General Electric provided technical analysis and its “Make-Ready” fleet partner build incentives to assist with charging and infrastructure design and costs. PGE brought its services from the pole to the new DC Fast charging station, which accounted for about 50% of the total infrastructure cost. It includes three 180 kWh DC chargers that can recharge an eCascadia in two hours and three 60 kWh chargers that can recharge an eM2 in four hours.
- Oregon DEQ Clean Fuels program grants that reduce the cost of electricity to 19 cents per kilowatt hour, making it less expensive than diesel fuel.
Wilson also expects to request federal funding through the federal Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress in 2022 to further reduce the cost of the eM2 trucks when it becomes available. He encourages other freight companies to take advantage of all incentives, too.
Wilson has owned and operated TITAN freight Systems about 20 years. He first began realizing the environment harm caused by diesel emissions 14 years ago, including the soot that falls on snowpacks, causing them to melt prematurely. He previously switched his fleet to renewable diesel, which is not a fossil fuel. That reduced soot by 40% and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%, Wilson said.
“Eliminating diesel emissions in Oregon can restore the snowpacks and help ease the droughts. We can make an immediate difference if other companies will also take advantage of the incentives and electrify their fleets,” Wilson said.
All of the speakers praised Wilson’s commitment to the environment. Others included: PGE President and CEO Maria Pope; Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Director Leah Feldon; Oregon Business for Climate Executive Director Tim Miller; and Josh Lyons, president of the Oregon/SW Washington Market of KeyBank, which helped finance the purchase.
According to the speakers, transportation emissions account for 40% of all greenhouse gas emission and must be eliminated to achieve climate goals. Several said July was the hottest month in human history and a warning of climate disaster if temperatures are not reduced.
“The answer is simple. All we have to do is electrify everything,” Merkley said.
TITAN is a regional transportation company headquartered in Portland specializing in overnight less-than-truckload freight service with seven service centers located in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Daimler Truck North America is headquartered in Portland on Swan Island.
“Eliminating diesel emissions in Oregon can restore the snowpacks and help ease the droughts. We can make an immediate difference if other companies will also take advantage of the incentives and electrify their fleets.”
Keith Wilson, trucking company CEO and Portland’s next mayor
Keith who?
Many city residents were probably surprised to see Keith Wilson easily leading in the early results in the Tuesday, Nov. 5, election for mayor of Portland. Unlike several other candidates, Wilson has never held public office. He owns a trucking company. But by the next morning, he was ahead with over 60% of the vote. His opponents conceded, and Wilson will be the city’s net mayor.
The following article was first published in the Portland Tribune July 30, 2023.