By Bill Holloway
At SSTI’s first Sustainability Directors’ Meeting in June 2015, a number of state departments of transportation were interested in siting renewable energy infrastructure (primarily solar arrays) in the highway right-of-way (ROW) but faced challenges in getting started. Two big issues were uncertainty regarding the FHWA rules that apply to projects on the National Highway System and unfamiliarity with the business side of renewable energy production.
At a workshop to further explore the topic in January 2016, many attendees noted that their organizations could benefit by learning from the experience of agencies that are already pursuing renewable energy projects in the ROW. The goal of SSTI’s Renewable Energy in the Right of Way resource page is to facilitate the sharing of technical documents related to these types of projects. It is a living repository of technical documents for state DOTs and others to use as examples as they develop their own ROW renewable energy projects.
Documents currently available fall into categories of Easements, Guidance, Legislation, Power Purchase Agreements, Requests for Proposals and Similar Documents, and Site Characteristics. While some of these categories have only one or two documents, the repository will be expanded as additional documents become available.
If you or your organization are willing to share any technical documents related to renewable energy projects in the ROW being pursued in your state, please let us know.
Bill Holloway is a Transportation Policy Analyst at SSTI.