Evaluation of the Economic Potential of Photovoltaic Power Generation in Road Spaces

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation has become an important clean energy generation source. In the context of transportation development and its very large energy demand, scholars have begun to use PV power generation technology on roads and their surrounding road spaces. Current research on PV power generation in road spaces has mostly focused on its feasibility and technical potential, but there have been few studies on its economic potential. For this reason, this paper used the Zhengding County of Hebei Province, China, to study the evaluation method of the technical and economic potential of PV power generation in road spaces and to analyze the development potential of PV power generation in road spaces. The results show that Zhengding County has a very high amount of road space available for PV power generation, with an effective PV installation area of 20.98 km2 and an annual theoretical power generation capacity of 1.5 billion kWh. If the PV road space project is fully operational in 2021, it could be profitable by 2026, and the net profit (NP) could reach $705 million in 2030. The application of photovoltaic power generation in road spaces is a very promising method of sustainable energy supply.

Wind Flow and Its Interaction with a Mobile Solar PV System Mounted on a Trailer

“…The lift force represents the component of the aerodynamic force that acts perpendicular to the airflow and is mathematically described by Equation (1). Likewise, the drag force corresponds to the component of the aerodynamic force that acts tangentially to the airflow and can be expressed by Equation (2).…”

“…Photovoltaic (PV) harvesting energy systems constitute one of the major technologies which could contribute to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on ensuring reliable and sustainable energy supply through effective sun energy harvesting to generate electricity while minimizing adverse environmental impacts [1]. This encompasses the introduction of the solar PV system as a key renewable energy source, feasible for electricity generation at convincing costs per kilowatt in diverse global regions [2,3].…”

Photovoltaic road pavements as a strategy for low-carbon urban infrastructures

“…Several studies proposed solar or photovoltaic panels to mitigate UHIs [ 23 ] in line with the global strategy towards a low-carbon economy. This approach encourages the strategy of generating renewable and sustainable energy from streets and surrounding public spaces [ 24 , 25 ] to be used for various mobility-related applications, such as infrastructure lighting [ 26 ], speed data collection [ 27 ], communication between vehicles [ 28 ], and EV charging stations [ 29 ].…”