Portland State University’s Northwest Economic Research Center (NERC) has released a new report that examines Oregon’s rapidly growing electric vehicle industry. This traditionally green state saw the opportunities in EVs as early as 2009, and established a public-private partnership called Drive Oregon to support the nascent industry. Today Oregon boasts an impressive “EV cluster,” which this report sets out to describe.

To quantify the economic activity the cluster generates, NERC conducted surveys with 54 EV-related companies, and crunched the numbers in the most thorough academic style. It’s an extremely detailed report – some of the footnotes have footnotes. It all boils down to good economic news for the Beaver State (the EVer state?).

According to the report, Oregon’s EV industry directly provides around 411 full-time jobs, and indirectly supports 1,169 more, generating some $266 million in economic activity, including $89 million in employee compensation. NERC estimates state and local tax revenue from the industry at $12 million and federal taxes at $22 million. The data also shows that the EV industry continued to grow during the Great Recession, while other transportation industries had huge losses.

Oregon’s EV cluster includes manufacturers of all types of EVs (cars, trucks, motorcycles, neighborhood EVs), as well as parts and components, and firms involved in charging infrastructure and other EV industry-supporting sectors. The report notes that, compared to the traditional auto industry, the EV business world is far more horizontal. “No one firm dominates any aspect of the market, [which leaves] opportunities for smaller, developing firms.”

NERC attributes the state’s success to a combination of supply and demand factors: “Oregon’s clean tech comparative advantage and skilled labor force coupled with public policies and incentives have contributed significantly to the innovation and investment on the supply side of the EV industry. On the demand side, the state’s local demand for EVs has been largely ahead of the general US population.”

Oregonian EV industry leaders will be making a presentation at the State Capitol for the public and lawmakers this week.

Image: Brammo
Sources: NWCN.com, Northwest Economic Research Center