M27 Trial of Highway Noise Barriers As Solar Energy Generators

Details

• Creators:
  Carder, Derek ; Barker, K. J.
• Corporate Creators:
  TRL Limited
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Noise barriers
  • Solar energy
  • Highways
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  TRL Limited
• Abstract:
  Renewable energy technologies are likely to become more important as other energy sources become depleted and the cost of power generation using fossil fuels rises. Renewable sources of energy have considerable potential for increasing security of supply and reducing CO2emissions although, in most cases, they require significant initial investment. This report describes a full scale trial to recover solar energy using photovoltaic noise barriers installed on the M27. In addition to the electrical performance of the system, whole life costs studies were undertaken to assess the benefits of a wider implementation of the technology. Any impact on driver behaviour due to the presence of a visible technology adjacent to the highway was also investigated, as were the implications on reflected noise levels of using a photovoltaic barrier as opposed to a conventional noise barrier.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/40357/dot_40357_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.56 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:edaf6f988e1cc1cdce0f513d3302c421b5c81e1ae5dd6bbbe3e4f7e375df794b