A research team has published in Earth’s Future journal that covering highways internationally with solar roofs could generate 17,578 TWh per annum – exceeding 60% of global electricity consumption in 2023.
Roofing Highways With Solar Panels Substantially Reduces Carbon Emissions and Traffic Losses explores how installing solar panels above highways and major roads could act as a novel approach to harnessing renewable energy.
The researchers looked at 3.2m km of international highways, compiling an evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with creating a solar panel network using polycrystalline panels with a 250W capacity.
The findings reveal that installing solar roofs on highways could generate more than four times the annual energy output of the United States, offset 28.78% of current CO2 emissions, and even reduce traffic deaths worldwide by 10.8%.
The results surprised lead author Ling Yao, a remote sensing scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who continued:
“I didn’t realise that highways alone could support the deployment of such large photovoltaic installations, generating more than half of the world’s electricity demand, and greatly easing the pressure to reduce global carbon emissions.”
Eastern China, Western Europe, and the US East Coast were named as prime locations for deployment, despite the challenges related to setup and maintenance costs. However, Yao stressed the importance of pilot programs to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of this concept on a large scale.
