Solar farm will stretch along the 25-mi Dutch highway

• Netherlands’ Rijkswaterstaat is planning to deploy PV module installation along the Drenthe’s motorway. The panels will be installed on the 300ha area on the median and sides of the road. The project is being developed under the country’s target to find new spaces for clean energy solutions.

The photovoltaic systems will be installed along the median as well as both sides of highway A37. The total length of the road is 40km. In general, the array will cover the area of about 300ha. The space was preliminarily explored three years ago. This venture is being deployed under the umbrella of the governmental initiative to allocate the Dutch public land for development of green power pilot projects.

Two years ago, Heijmans decided to create soundwalls with photovoltaic cells along a few Dutch highways. In Feb 2019, the company finished construction the first array. The 400m-long installation has been stretched along A50 in the south east of the country.

Based on this project, Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management has studied feasibility of solar-integrated noise walls. The new venture, worth 1.4m euros has been funded by EC. The project is meant for acceleration of solar integration into sound berms along major European roads. Such Netherlands’ institutions as SEAC, ECN, and Agency of Water Management run the venture.

In early spring of 2017, the agency began seeking new options for deployment of solar solutions. At that time, Rijkswaterstaat planned to install photovoltaic and other green power plants on public land and water basins. A year and a half later, it decided to check whether a solar-powered road can be a feasible alternative for large-scale PV installations.