Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems
In Marseille they have presented a project to cover the urban highways in the area with solar panels and, with the benefits obtained from the electricity generated, tolls could be paid.
One of the commitments that the Government of Spain adopted with the European Commission, in exchange for receiving European funds, was the installation of a new toll system on Spanish highways as of 2024. However, from France comes an alternative less harmful to the taxpayer’s pocket: solar panels on highways to pay tolls.
Specifically, the initiative has been presented in Marseille and consists of building solar roads to produce electricity and pay tolls with the profits obtained from it.
Leading the project are, among others, Guy Benarroche, president of France Nature Environnement, Sébastien Barles, deputy mayor of Marseille, and Younes Rifad, engineer and councillor. The idea is to take advantage of solar energy, with 3,000 hours of sunshine per year in the area, to produce 1,900 kWh per square meter.
Solar panels on highways to pay tolls in Spain
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems
According to El Español, the project contemplates covering the 26 kilometers of urban highways that cross Marseille with solar panels through awnings, canopies and overhangs that would produce 130 GWh per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of some 60,000 people, 7% of the population of the French city.
That solar surface would cover about 800,000 square meters and would generate a maximum power of 100 MW.
The main beneficiaries of this initiative would be the residents of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods of the city in the south of France through which the highways pass, which, according to the promoters, would have lower electricity prices “for a guaranteed period of 20 years”.
It is estimated that the installation of these solar roads would involve an investment of 240 million euros, more than double that of a large photovoltaic plant.
An initiative that is not new
The idea of installing solar panels on highways is not new. Precisely, in France, there was already a similar project in 2016, in Tourouvre-au-Perche, although the result was not positive.
The journey presented numerous problems, such as decreasing efficiency every year or the degradation of the panels.
Another project with these characteristics is called PV-Süd, financed by Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and led by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT).
One of those involved in the project, Martin Heinrich, from the German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, calculated the amount of electricity that could be generated if the 13,000 kilometers of highways in Germany were covered with solar panels and 47 TWh per year, enough to cover a third of the consumption of all German households.
In the Netherlands, the possibility of installing solar panels on the shoulders and party wall of the A37 motorway, in the province of Drenthe, was also raised in 2016. With an occupation equivalent to 300 hectares, this facility would serve as noise barriers, in addition to providing electricity to 70,000 homes. Ultimately, it didn’t work out.
Not just highways
The idea of installing solar panels is not just limited to highways. There are also initiatives for urban roads, such as a bike lane. In this sense, there is a proposal by the architect Peter Kuczia to install a photovoltaic path for both cyclists and pedestrians.
Those solar panels would connect to nearby charging stations to power streetlights and other lighting systems, such as traffic lights, using solar energy.