The agency is awaiting occupancy permits to open a solar field at a maintenance facility on Interstate 66 near Genet and a new county headquarters. This will be the first of several planned solar installations in the state, including New Stanton and the Harrison Township area of Penn, as the tollway uses existing properties to develop additional solar and retail capacity. It takes out.
At the same time, Pennsylvania officials are working with experts from Ohio Highway and Utah State University Special Programs in a pilot project to electrify a portion of the highway. This is expected to begin in the next 18 months with a demonstration project using a metered parking lot as a charging station, followed by the partial electrification of a metered road system on the Ohio-Latin America border in Pennsylvania, allowing drivers to self-serve. . - Fuel may leak while driving.
A maintenance facility stands next to an installed solar array near the northbound entrance of Interstate 66 in Genet, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Matt Fried / The Post-GazetteThe electrified highway is part of Utah's Road Electrification Program, a sustainable development of electric infrastructure. In the year Founded in 2020 as a technical research center by the National Science Foundation, it will begin installing a 50-meter electrified highway in Utah this month and open the first system in Detroit next year. .
Although details and prices are not set, the owners of the electric road - usually the government or toll commissions - charge drivers for the electricity their cars receive. Drivers can turn off the receiver if they don't want to charge while driving.
ImmersionLast year, the Pennsylvania Turnpike installed more than 3,300 solar panels on a 5-acre hillside near Janet. Each panel can generate 405 watts of power up to 1.3 megawatts.
Sunny district is the first toll road. It is part of a $4.5 million project to create a microgrid that will provide electricity for the local toll road along with a natural gas generator. This road generates additional electricity worth $450,000 to $650,000 per year.
The project began by building a local shop with a dozen tradesmen who would take care of all electrical, carpentry, plumbing and HVAC needs within the first 100 miles of the project.
The team needed a new facility to replace the one in the Hamptons. Because space was limited, the decision was made to build 66 toll lanes on Toll Road, County Commissioner Chris David said during a tour Friday.
When plans were made for the $6 million building, David said he saw an opportunity for the agency to generate its own energy there. In conjunction with the installation of the solar panels, a high-pressure natural gas supply line will be used to power a 1.3 MW generator as backup for the solar panels.
As an added benefit, the charge receives heat from a generator that runs continuously in the winter to provide radiant heat for the new commercial building.
Solar panels are placed on one side of the site's driveway and provide electricity for service and commercial areas. This playground also has a generator; A system for converting direct current from solar panels to alternating current for buildings and street lights; A system for capturing radiant heat from the generator; And configure the computer so that everything works.
David said he hopes to resume operations soon after the faults preventing transmission of electricity to West Penn during repairs or emergencies are resolved. Toll expects to recoup its investment in solar power within five years.
"We've done all our tests and we know it works," David said. "It's great to be part of something new."
A maintenance facility stands next to an installed solar array near the northbound entrance of Interstate 66 in Genet, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Matt Fried / The Post-Gazette
The solar field near Genet is the first of many as the tollway looks to reduce costs, improve the environment and provide opportunities for electric vehicle owners, said Keith Jack, tollway operations manager. The plan is similar to a State Auditor's Office report released last week that called for major overhauls to reduce the agency's $13.2 billion in debt.
Mr. Jack said a report by Georgia solar consultant The Ray in April showed that more than 5,400 acres of the tollway could already be suitable for solar development. If all available sites were to participate, the board could generate 1,513 gigawatts of electricity worth $129 million annually, the consultant said.
According to Jack, the tollway strategically places solar units to maximize return on investment and may not utilize all available units. Work has begun on the western regional headquarters project in New Stanton, followed by the construction of a solar plant in the city of Harrison.
"It will be a long process," he said.
Electric street
The solar fields are the first step in a long-term project where electric vehicles can be easily charged by driving on the surface. The goal is to create electric vehicles that allow drivers to get power while driving and charge vehicle batteries while charging underground batteries.
The ASPIRE Center in Utah will begin installing a 50-meter display unit on a test track in Logan, Utah, within the next two weeks, said center director Tallis Black. Working with California wireless carrier Electrion, the center plans to install 1,600 miles of electric street coverage in downtown Detroit next year in partnership with the University of Michigan.
The center is working with another contractor to design an electrical backbone unit for DC World in Florida over the next four years.
Mr. Jack said the Pennsylvania Turnpike is taking a two-pronged approach to exploring electrified toll roads:
“Over the next 18 months, the company plans to design and build a parking lot at its Harrisburg headquarters where electric vehicles can be parked and charged.
- Plans to implement a demonstration project to create an electric road on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio within the next five years.
Toll Road is exploring the incorporation of structural elements into construction projects through a similar partnership with the University of Pittsburgh's high-impact infrastructure science and engineering program. The agency wants to be ready to supply small to mid-size vehicles first, and to have the infrastructure ready to charge battery technology for larger trucks and trailers, Jack said.
"This won't work for everyone, but it will make billing easier for many of our customers," he said.
The Frontier Project is a joint venture between Utah ASPIRE and two toll stations.
A solar panel was installed Friday, September 9, 2022 near the north entrance of Interstate 66 in Genet. Matt Fried / The Post-Gazette
Blalak believes that this type of partnership will generate enough revenue to realize the country's vision of building an all-electric road system, which will cover the cost of upgrading roads and bridges in the country.
Currently, electric batteries are only available for small and medium-sized vehicles, because the batteries of long-term trucks are too large and expensive to convert to the electric industry.
"Especially in this country, where trucks carry more cargo than any other country, it's especially important to have small batteries that can be charged while driving," Black said.
"Our real challenge is to electrify heavy vehicles," he said. "If we want to help fight climate change and greenhouse gases, we need to know about it."
ASPIRE is looking for partners in the trucking industry to test shorter batteries and electric road surfaces, Blalac said.
Pockets of densely populated small communities, such as the 100 Mile Corridor connecting Ogden, Utah, Provo and Salt Lake City, may develop early. Ultimately, Black says, electrified roads could transform the entire road transport system.
"I think we can build infrastructure that pays for good services with the money from tolls," he said. By reducing costs, we can change the way we pay for the entire transportation system.
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