Up to 48 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) potential along Germany’s highways

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) has commissioned the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) to study the potential to expand photovoltaic systems on federal highways.

The study calculates the photovoltaic potential on structures along federal highways, such as noise barriers, noise protection walls, defined structures, parking areas, and roadside areas.

The findings show potential capacity of up to 48 GW of photovoltaic along road sides, as well as up to 4.2 GW of installation potential on sound barriers and up to 1.2 GW for car parks alongside federal roads.

mage by Baloncici on 123rf

Susanne Henckel, State secretary in the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport, commented on the study results: “Photovoltaics on motorways offer great potential for sustainable energy generation. A total of around 250,000 potentially suitable areas for solar energy generation have been identified on our federal highways. This corresponds to a total potential in the double-digit gigawatt range.

“We want to leverage this potential by always checking to what extent the associated areas can be used for photovoltaic systems when planning the construction and expansion of federal motorways. We already created the legal framework in 2023 with the Approval Acceleration Act, which accelerates and simplifies the expansion of PV systems on and along federal motorways.”

According to Markus Oeser, president of the BASt, the study made use of the latest solar irradiation models combined with a GIS system to examine the Germany’s federal highways for solar PV installation potential. “At BASt, we are currently working on further refining the methodology for determining potential using AI,” added Oeser.

The Autobahn GmbH, which is owned by the German federal government, will now create a nationwide register of the areas and usable facilities, to either build and operate itself or contract out to third parties, such as municipalities, investors or residents.

The Autobahn GmbH is currently finalising the contractual arrangements required for this.

https://www.bast.de/DE/Publikationen/Berichte/unterreihe-v/2024-2023/v382.html