Solar power generation on highway slopes

This study aims to develop a method to estimate the PV power generation potential of slopes in road transport systems. Considering the geometric characteristics and structure composition of highway infrastructure, the technical approach of the potential assessment is proposed and illustrated in Figure 1.

The PV power generation potential of highway slopes can be determined after entering the highway geometric and radiation data and adopting the desirable placement scheme of the PV.

Installing photovoltaic (PV) modules on highways is considered a promising way to support carbon neutrality in China. However, collecting the area of the highway, and precisely assessing the shadow area of the highway under complex terrain remain challenges. That severely hinders the assessment of highway PV potential.

The proposed planning strategy promotes the optimization of the siting and deployment of road photovoltaic systems. This study provides technical support for low-carbon energy supply in highways, contributing to sustainable development and net zero emissions in transportation.

Jaehoon Jung et al. proposed a method for estimating the solar energy potential of highway fill slopes using publicly available digital maps to determine the installation location of solar photovoltaic panels .

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6 FAQs about [Solar power generation on highway slopes]

Can solar power be used on Highway slopes?

To facilitate the large-scale utilization of solar energy on highway slopes, it is necessary to provide practical calculation and assessment methods for the power generation potential in order to support the PV power generation system’s decision-making, planning, and design processes for project-level and network-level applications.

How to determine PV power generation potential of highway slopes?

The PV power generation potential of highway slopes can be determined after entering the highway geometric and radiation data and adopting the desirable placement scheme of the PV array. Figure 1. The technical approach of the highway slope PV power generation potential assessment. 2.1. Highway Segmentation and Slope Area Calculation

What is the solar energy potential of a highway?

Generally, the intensity of solar radiation received by a highway is low around sunrise and sunset. Therefore, the potential of solar energy lost during these periods is small, even if the highway is shadowed by surrounding terrain. 4.3. Assessment of the solar energy potential of highways in China

How much solar power can be generated on highways?

The assessment results of the solar power generation on the slopes of different highway segments are illustrated in Table A7, and the overall solar power generation potential of the studied highway section was found to be 3,896,061.68 kWh in total. 5. Summary and Conclusions

What is the solar energy potential of highways in China?

The annual solar energy potential of Chinese highways at the prefecture-level city scale. According to the obtained results, the highway solar energy potential in China is 3,932 TW. Fig. 9 shows that cities with high highway solar energy potential is mostly located in the northwest, north, and south-central parts of China.

How do shaded areas affect solar energy potentials of PV highways?

The solar energy potentials of PV highways are influenced by shadow areas on the highway surface created by the surrounding terrain. In this study, a total of 615 paired blocks of DEM and highway data were used to calculate the hourly shaded areas of highways throughout China, as described in Section 3.2.

Solar power generation on highway slopes