Highway Report Helps States Consider Energy Projects on Highway Rights-of-Way

摘要

Highway rights-of-way can be "ideal" locations for generating renewable energy, and state departments of transportation should consider such uses, the Federal Highway Administration said in a new report. The report, "Renewable Energy Generation in the Highway Right-of-Way," found that installing solar panels, wind turbines, or the planting of biomass are all potentially compatible with existing transportation uses as long as they don't compromise safety and are consistent with federal and state requirements. It is in the public interest and compatible with Department of Transportation priorities to use highway rights-of-way for renewable energy projects for public or private utilities, the report said. Also, each state DOT is allowed to decide whether to permit utility facilities in its rights-of-way, consistent with the FHWA's previous guidance and a 2012 report issued jointly by the FHWA and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.