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The half-mile-long Interstate 95 in the suburbs of Boston may soon be the site of the country's first solar panels installed on highway noise barriers.
The pilot project may begin construction as early as this spring and will test a solar installation method, which proponents say can be widely applied across the state and nationwide.
Ko-Solar partner Mohammed Siddiqui (Mohammed Siddiqui) said: "If this plan is successful, it will open the door to more sites," the company and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation jointly developed the project. "Why don't we adjust the existing structure and transform the existing structure? Most states have sound barriers."
Ko-Solar started when Siddiqui and entrepreneur Koray Kotan met at a social event in the Boston area and began to discuss their common interest in green technology. They quickly thought of the vision of building solar projects on and around the traffic structure. They began to seek the idea of using highway noise barriers, installing metal grids on both sides of the wall, and installing solar panels on this frame at an angle.
The company first presented this idea to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in 2015, which was very interested in it. Since 2013, the department has been working on the development of solar projects on the land around the highway it supervises. Today, the eight solar installations on the departmental properties can generate approximately 5,300 MWh of electricity per year.
The sound barrier concept opens up more potential space for such projects. However, as the department begins to explore this idea, the state is making plans to change the structure of its solar incentive program, which makes financial calculations uncertain. The idea of a solar barrier was put on hold.
After some delays, a new incentive measure, the Massachusetts Solar Renewable Target (SMART), is planned to be launched at the end of 2018. Once up and running, the plan restored the idea of a solar noise barrier.
"Government projects are progressing very slowly," Siddiqui said. "You just need to be patient."
The state is finalizing a letter of intent with the developer for the project. If the plan goes as expected, the device will be installed on 160 concrete guardrails southbound on I-95 Interstate Highway (one of the busiest commuter roads in the state). The panel will face the road and cannot be seen by nearby residents.
The device will be owned by a third-party solar company Solect, and the transportation department will purchase the generated electricity at a price a few cents/kWh lower than the basic utility rate. The array is expected to generate 800 megawatt-hours of electricity each year—about enough to power about 100 homes—over a period of 20 years, it is estimated to save the state $560,000.
In order to make the financial work, the project will participate in the SMART program, which pays a fixed rate per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated. According to a regulation, the installation is eligible to pay an additional 6 cents per kilowatt hour, which can promote projects built on areas that are also used for transportation purposes. In September, the plan also received a $345,000 grant from the State Department of Energy and Resources as part of a plan to help state agencies and universities develop clean energy projects.
Don Petty, the strategic plan project manager for the transportation department, said that the support of these state governments is critical to advancing the proposal.
He said: "Without this grant, it would not have great economic value to the department."
As a pilot project, the device will be closely observed during the first few years of operation. The systems used to connect the panels will be carefully monitored to ensure that they do not damage the barriers and to confirm that they can withstand the cold and freezing winters of Massachusetts. The sound level will be analyzed to ensure that the panel does not affect the ability of the barrier to block noise. The state will also pay close attention to whether the glare on the panel will cause problems for drivers on busy commuter highways.
"This is a somewhat risky project for developers," Petty said. "If we find it is not as expected, they will be asked to take them down."
Because it is located along an interstate highway, the project does not require formal approval from the town of Lexington. Nevertheless, Ko-Solar contacted the town and residents living near the project site to explain the plan and seek their support. Both the project neighbors and the selection committee accepted this idea.
"They got overwhelming support from their neighbors," said Mark Sandeen, a member of the selection committee and president of MassSolar, a non-profit organization for solar energy access. "We are very supportive of the sustainable development plan for the town of Lexington."
Although this device is the first in the United States, since the 1990s, similar projects have been carried out all over the world, including Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia. Evaluation of these devices shows that they can effectively block sound and generate electricity, but their cost-effectiveness depends on the location, electricity price, and available solar subsidies.
The Massachusetts project will serve as a testing ground to see if the United States is ready to join the international company. The potential for installing noise barriers is great: A 2017 Michigan Technological University study found that the country's existing noise barriers can withstand up to 9 gigawatts of solar capacity.
Petty said that if the pilot is successful, it can also open the door to more innovative solar projects. For example, the state may consider installing an inductive solar charging station on the back of a solar-powered noise barrier.
"This first step will allow us to see these things," Petty said.
Sarah is a senior journalist covering business, technology, sustainability and the places where they meet. She reported on the operation of the township government in New Hampshire, the activities of suspected scammers and scammers, and details of the local food system. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Boston Globe, TheAtlantic.com, Slate, and other publications. Sarah is in charge of Massachusetts.
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Written by Sarah Shemkus, Energy News Network, November 3, 2021
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