Intended Audience: civil, highway, and electrical engineers interested in the possibility of installing solar arrays in highway right of ways

PDH UNITS: 3

Uncover the various impacts associated with the deployment of solar arrays in right of ways (ROWs) in our online course created by Dr. Rossow. European countries have been deploying solar arrays in ROWs for more than thirty years. Today, most U.S. state departments of transportation and the Federal Highway Administration agree that solar array deployment in the ROW is possible after careful site evaluation and impact analysis. Typical spaces available for solar energy generation include rest areas, land outside ROW clear zones, space adjacent to interchanges, and rooftops. In addition to an increase in available space, ROWs offer electrical infrastructure corridors (i.e. existing transmission lines aligned with the highways), well-maintained and secure land, and easy access for construction and maintenance activities. The primary concerns associated with solar array deployment in the ROW, however, are driver safety, highway operation, maintenance, and environmental impacts. As such, these potential consequences are what are addressed in this course. This online engineering PDH course is based on the impact of solar array deployment in the State of Colorado, but almost all of the concerns discussed apply to other states as well. In particular, the course material is derived from Report No. CDOT-2015-08 of the Colorado Department of Transportation, “Potential Impacts of Solar Arrays on Highway Environment, Safety, and Operations,” written by Ananda Paudel and Arthur Hirsch, October, 2015, under Contract No. 032.08.