WHERE TO PUT THE SUN

In notes for investors, Economist, investments specialist and software consultant William Ellard expanded on a frequently-mentioned and interesting idea, the use of roadside spaces, the land included in the rights of way granted for the construction of highways and other roadways, for solar installations.

One of the pointless criticisms leveled at solar and wind is that they take up too much space to be sources of large power generation.

A recent study by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson showed that wind needs only 3 square kilometers of footprint and 0.5% of U.S. land in total to provide enough electricity for an entire U.S. auto fleet of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). (See WIND WINDS, NEW ENERGY LEADS…)

Ellard pointed out that commercial rooftops, brownfields and highway rights of way are ideal locations for solar because they do not disrupt wildlife, habitat or ecosystems.

Citing Richard T. Forman’s Road Ecology: Science and Solutions, Ellard calculated “highway solar capacity” could generate 7 times the amount of electricity the U.S. uses. Ellard called such solar installations “ROW” (right of way) solar.

Lots of room - and sun - for improvement. (click to enlarge)

Some numbers from Forman: California has 230,000 acres of right of way on 15,000 miles of highway. A similar ratio means 4 million miles of U.S. roads provides 60 million acres of right of way, much of it contiguous to Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-managed federal lands that would extend the available space.

1-megawatt solar power can come from ~2-4 acres of land. 60 million acres = 20 million megawatts. Because solar energy is only produced while the sun is shining, Ellard estimated solar’s actual production would be perhaps 1/3 of that 20 million megawatts, or just under 7 million megawatts.

U.S. electricity generation capacity in 2007 was ~1 million megawatts. That’s where Ellard got his estimate of solar’s potential to be 7 times U.S. consumption.

The proposal for ROW solar is especially intriguing in conjunction with current discussions about the best ways to apply the billions in economic stimulus funds about to become available. Because of existing highway development and maintenance programs and solar installation businesses, ROW solar installations are halfway to "shovel-ready' status already.

Money funded through highway construction bureaucracies for seasonally adjusted, ready-to-ramp-up crews and independently-contracted solar system installers could probably be put to work stimulating the economy as quickly as almost any energy-producing project the federal government could find.

Allard writes Alternative Energy Economics

This photo of a brownfield installation shows the look of ROW solar. (click to enlarge)

A New Use for Solar Energy – Highway Right of Way
William Ellard, December 13, 2008 (Seeking Alpha)

WHO
Western Renewable Energy Zones; Solyndra; Richard T. Forman, author, Road Ecology: Science and Solutions; Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

WHAT
Space along public highways might provide enough land to power the U.S. with solar energy with minimal disruption to wildlife and ecosystems.

The National Highway System. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- Forman’s book was published in 2002 and all estimates of California and U.S. roadways are therefore at least 6 years old. There are likely more miles of highway and more acres of potential solar capacity now.
- Ellard used 2007 figures on U.S. electricity generation capacity.

WHERE
Western Renewable Energy Zones, a joint initiative of the Western Governors’ Association and the U.S. Department of Energy, is preparing the groundwork for New Energy in the west by identifying and pre-certifying zones for development.
- Wind and geothermal are limited to specific locations while solar can be developed almost anywhere the sun shines.

WHY
- New roads and infrastructure placed on previously undisturbed public lands for solar, wind and geothermal development represent serious impacts on wildlife, habitat and ecosystems.
- Different solar technologies have been developed for the variety of locations where there is sun.
- It is estimated that Solyndra’s thin film installations, specifically designed for commercial rooftops, could provide 25% of U.S. electricity needs (based on an estimate of 15% efficiency).
- ROW solar would actually protect animal life by (1) allowing land managers to funnel wildlife away from dangerous highway crossings into safe corridors and (2) turn domestic and large grazing animals (cattle, deer, etc.) away from trafficked routes.
- ROW solar would improve the appearance of highways lined with scrub, weeds, debris, and power lines and save taxpayers maintenance of nothing-space costs.
California has ~15 acres of right of way per mile of highway.

A Solyndra commercial rooftop system. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Ellard: “In summary, right of way highway solar is a great solution to our nation's energy needs, as well as reducing costs to manage these right of ways. Another benefit would be to help wildlife managers create wildlife corridors for both human and wildlife safety. Lets preserve our undisturbed public lands by implementing solar technologies on these existing managed lands.”