Alternative Uses of Highway Rights-of-Way

Abstract

In recent years, the capacity, generation, and consumption of energy derived from renewable sources have grown significantly on a global level. To increase renewable energy production in the near term, state and local transportation agencies have recently expressed more interest in installing decentralized renewable energy technologies on spaces not traditionally considered for energy generation. Many transportation agencies have demonstrated the viability of utilizing the highway right-of-way (ROW) for decentralized renewable energy production. Following these leads, several U.S. state departments of transportation are exploring similar prospects, given that the ample lands that they manage are in proximity to power loads and, in some cases, have already been disturbed or are no longer held for their environmental attributes. From a highway ROW perspective, however, considerable economic, ecological, legal, and political uncertainties are related to whether accommodating renewable energy technologies can be a practical highway land management practice. This study provides transportation agencies with information that will enable them to consider better the implications and evaluate the feasibility of implementing renewable energy and fuel options in the ROW. The lessons that early adopters have learned should inform others.