World’s highways could host 52.3 billion solar panels, say researchers

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Geosciences, and Columbia University have concluded that solar-covered highways could meet more than 60% of the world’s annual energy needs.

August 13, 2024 Patrick Jowett

Image: Unsplash

From pv magazine Global

A research team has determined that covering the world’s highways with solar roofs could generate 17,578 TWh per year, which is more than 60% of global electricity consumption in 2023.

Their study, titled “Roofing Highways With Solar Panels Substantially Reduces Carbon Emissions and Traffic Losses,” was recently published in the journal Earth’s Future. It explores the potential to install solar panels above highways and major roads.

With more than 3.2 million km of highways worldwide, the researchers calculated the costs and benefits of constructing a solar panel network using polycrystalline solar panels with a 250 W capacity. The analysis found that covering highways with solar panels could generate more than four times the annual energy output of the United States and offset 28.78% of current CO2 emissions, while also reducing global traffic deaths by 10.8%.

“This really surprised me,” said Ling Yao, a remote sensing scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the study’s lead author. “I didn’t realize that highways alone could support the deployment of such large photovoltaic installations, generating more than half of the world’s electricity demand, and greatly easing the pressure to reduce global carbon emissions.”

The researchers also identified regions such as eastern China, Western Europe, and the US East Coast as the most ideal for deployment, despite challenges related to setup and maintenance costs. Yao noted the importance of pilot programs to demonstrate the practicality of this concept.

The research team consisted of academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University and Chinese Academy of Geosciences, all located in Beijing, as well as New York’s Columbia University.

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