{"id":512852,"date":"2022-05-23T17:24:01","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T00:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=512852"},"modified":"2024-05-07T09:07:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T16:07:29","slug":"solarhighways","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways","title":{"rendered":"Identifying the Solar Potential Next to America\u2019s Highways"},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[24962,476882,931],"tags":[253502,469281,237991,479362],"arcuser_issues":[479252],"class_list":["post-512852","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focus","category-geographic-approach","category-spatial-analysis","tag-gis-analysis","tag-renewable-energy","tag-solar-energy","tag-the-ray","arcuser_issues-spring-2022"],"acf":{"short_description":"GIS analysis revealed land adjacent to highway right-of-ways that are excellent sites for placing solar panels.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":512862,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"An hour out of Atlanta and halfway to Alabama, the southbound I-85 freeway crosses US Highway 27. Unless your destination is LaGrange, Georgia, you\u2019ll likely blow right past exit 14.\r\n\r\nIf you do take exit 14 after nightfall, you could easily miss the five-acre, one-megawatt array of solar panels that fills the grassy area of the diamond-shaped interchange. It powers the 50 LED streetlamps on this previously unlit stretch of asphalt, and excess electricity goes directly to Georgia Power\u2019s grid. The Ray, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that partially underwrites this installation, hopes it serves as a guiding light for America\u2019s sustainable energy future.\r\n\r\nThe exit 14 solar project exists on land that transportation planners call a highway right-of-way, or ROW. These are the buffer spaces\u2014including shoulders, medians, rest stops, and turnoffs\u2014that provide breathing room on high-speed thoroughfares.\r\n\r\nA movement is under way to transform typically shade-free highway ROWs that sit outside the safety zone (at least 30 feet from the roadway) into sites for generating solar power. Georgia, Iowa, Oregon, and Massachusetts are among the states that have launched pilot projects that take advantage of the secure borders of freeway ROW, which are typically adjacent to electrical infrastructure and easy to access for maintenance.\r\n\r\nThe Ray, which promotes the use of ROW land for solar panel arrays, estimates many states have enough federal interstate freeway ROW land to support thousands of acres of solar arrays. Interchange acreage alone, like the ROW used for the exit 14 project, could generate 36 terawatt-hours of electricity, which is enough to fully charge 12 million electric vehicles each year.\r\n

ROWs Upon ROWs<\/h2>\r\nThe first step is locating and evaluating possible locations, specks within the hundreds of thousands of miles of highways in the country\u2014over 47,000 miles in the interstate system alone.\r\n\r\nSolar arrays require specific conditions, and their sheer size can be disruptive. To help find the perfect spots for arrays, The Ray used a tool developed by Esri to conduct geospatial analysis with a GIS, an approach it hopes becomes widely adopted by other organizations and transportation departments.\r\n\r\nWhile working with open data from the Iowa Department of Transportation, The Ray began by using GIS to identify and display the state\u2019s 238,000 acres of highway ROW. Various map layers revealed other attributes of interest for choosing the best sites, such as electrical lines.\r\n\r\nThe geospatial tool then allowed analysts to eliminate land they didn\u2019t want to use, such as protected areas and high-density regions. Anything too close to railroad tracks or pipelines\u2014or too far from electrical lines\u2014was also automatically subtracted from the map.\r\n\r\nThe analysis returned the results of potential sites. The tool could then rank possible locations by suitability, considering such variables as solar radiation, a calculation derived from a 3D terrain model that showed elevation and trees that cast shadows.\r\n\r\nThe net result was 38,000 acres of prime solar-ready land. Based on the tool\u2019s calculations, arrays on those polygons could produce five million megawatt-hours per year, worth about $400 million.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe GIS analysis lets transportation agencies move from what they could do to what they should do,\u201d said Allie Kelly, The Ray\u2019s executive director.\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":512962,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Wall-to-Wall Sustainability<\/h2>\r\nThe Ray takes its name from Ray Anderson, a former Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) football player who founded Interface, Inc., a company that pioneered the manufacture of carpet tiles for office spaces, in 1973.\r\n\r\nThroughout the 1970s and 1980s, Anderson grew Interface into an industry giant. In the early 1990s, inspired by Paul Hawken\u2019s book, The Ecology of Commerce, Anderson looked for ways to clean up the petroleum-heavy industrial processes that are involved in making his company\u2019s products.\r\n\u201cHe called it Interface\u2019s \u2018mission zero,\u2019\u201d Kelly said. \u201cThe goal was zero waste to landfill, zero carbon, and zero fossil fuels.\u201d Anderson became an early adopter of what we now call a circular economy.\r\n\r\nAnderson later cochaired President Bill Clinton\u2019s Council on Sustainable Development; advised President Barack Obama on climate change; and funded an endowed chair at Georgia Tech to support research in natural systems, energy, climate, and sustainability. Following Anderson\u2019s death in 2011, Harriet Anderson Langford, his youngest daughter, founded The Ray. The nonprofit charity functions as a proving ground for sustainable transportation technology on the Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway, a designation Langford successfully acquired in her father's honor.\r\n

Understanding the Benefits<\/h2>\r\nHighway ROWs are not The Ray\u2019s only focus. Exit 14 lies at one end of a stretch of I-85 nicknamed The Ray Highway, a living test-bed for the organization\u2019s transportation-related projects. But as an example of looking for ways to wring useful efficiency out of underused land, the ROW project best exemplifies Anderson\u2019s vision.\r\n\r\nThe Ray is currently discussing 10 projects for sites across the country, including Austin, Texas, and Charleston County, South Carolina. Making these projects happen requires negotiations with local governments, contracted tollbooth and turnpike operators, and state-level transportation departments.\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":512972,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The Bees\u2019 Needs<\/h2>\r\nA ROW is\u2014for practical purposes\u2014land that exists to exist. It is a necessary blank space in the highway fabric. Solar arrays not only add economic value to those lands but also provide a crucial, though less quantifiable, public service.\r\n\r\nThe Ray encourages transportation departments to plant flowering perennials as ground cover for these sites. The plantings provide a haven for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, many of them threatened species.\r\n\r\nThe GIS-powered tool The Ray developed to evaluate ROW land can show how much sunlight will reach the ground. Besides generating energy for people, a ROW can then also become a source of solar power for symbiotic flora and fauna.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou end up preserving pollinator habitat for decades,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cThese arrays take land that was producing nothing and transform it into something special.\u201d\r\n\r\nTo illustrate the scope and benefits of ROW solar projects, The Ray uses a GIS-based digital twin<\/a> of a highway area. The detailed visualization, which includes a 3D representation of the landscape and the solar panels, helps stakeholders gain a direct contextual understanding of a project.\r\n\r\n\u201cTransportation engineers know about asphalt, concrete, bridges, and signage,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cWhen we start talking about solar panels, this is infrastructure that isn\u2019t native to them. The digital twin normalizes it.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe twin can provide an exact replica, including the size of the panels and the width between rows. It can take the viewer down to the ground level, and even show how the array will look from various vantage points.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt allows a transportation department to get comfortable with a solar array, but it also allows transportation departments to think ahead to the community\u2019s perspectives,\u201d Kelly explained. A rise in the land, for instance, might mean that the solar arrays will impact local viewsheds. The tool can even show what someone of a given height might see when standing at a certain point.\r\n

Seeing Risk and Reward<\/h2>\r\nThe digital twin tool can also provide real quantitative data to assess the economic value of ROW arrays. How much sun will the site receive, based on weather data? How much will the generated electricity be worth, based on local rates?\r\n\r\nThese questions are crucial, because a ROW solar array effectively puts a transportation department into the electricity business. A department might, for example, work out a power purchase agreement with a local utility. Perhaps some of the power could be used to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations.\r\n\r\n\u201cTrying new things in transportation is just inherently risky,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cThis tool is designed to mitigate those risks. It\u2019s all about values and equivalencies.\u201d"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nGIS finds solar generating sites by highways<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"GIS is being used to determine the suitability of right-of-way land adjacent to the nation's highways for the placement of solar panels.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Identifying the Solar Potential Next to America\u2019s Highways\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GIS is being used to determine the suitability of right-of-way land adjacent to the nation's highways for the placement of solar panels.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-07T16:07:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2022\/05\/solarhiwsay_banner.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways\",\n\t \"name\": \"GIS finds solar generating sites by highways\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-05-24T00:24:01+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2024-05-07T16:07:29+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"GIS is being used to determine the suitability of right-of-way land adjacent to the nation's highways for the placement of solar panels.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/solarhighways#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Identifying the Solar Potential Next to America\u2019s Highways\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/82e5143bcdebadf8fd64d84e503ca468\",\n\t \"name\": \"Monica Pratt\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Monica Pratt\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"Monica Pratt is the founding and current editor of ArcUser magazine, the executive editor of ArcNews magazine, the editor of Esri Globe and head of the Publications team at Esri. 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