Skip to main content
ICTD 2025 Main banner
Final Program


Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

ICTD 2025

Sustainable Transportation

POSTER RECEPTION (View list of posters here)

Geospatial and Regulatory Assessment For Using State DOT Rights of Way for Energy Needs

Tuesday, June 10, 2025
4:45 PM – 6:00 PM MT
Abstract: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and The Ray, Inc. are collaborating to deliver a project for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, the Grid Deployment Office, and the Joint Office for Energy and Transportation that seeks to conducts a national analysis of the technical potential, barriers, and opportunities for energy in rights-of-way (ROWs) managed by state Departments of Transportation including solar, energy storage, transmission, and interconnection-enabling technologies. The presentation will share the approach for identifying suitability, a national assessment of technical potential along interstate and state highway ROWs, and a toolkit for state DOTs, and broad stakeholder engagement.

This presentation will share efforts to advance and accelerate the state of the art for siting energy technologies in the rights of way (ROWs) of state departments of transportation (DOTs) to provide additional income, help address state energy needs, and reduce maintenance burdens. This presentation will share efforts towards a first-of-its-kind comprehensive national capacity analysis, DOT and industry-vetted approaches, and stakeholder engagement. The presentation will be delivered through a partnership between The Ray, a 501(c)(3) leader in solar-in-ROW work since 2016; Esri, the world’s leading supplier of GIS software; and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a recognized leader in accelerating the development and deployment of emerging energy technologies. Collectively, the presentation will be of interest to DOTs interested in innovative, beneficial energy siting nationwide.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees can expect to learn the following from this session:
  • Upon completion, participant will be able to speak proactively about the utilization of state DOT rights of way for energy purposes.
  • Upon completion, participant will have connections to researchers, The Ray, and colleagues developing research and actionable pathways for deploying energy in rights of way.
  • Upon completion, participant will understand the technical potential for the use of rights of way for energy purposes including solar, energy storage, transmission, interconnection, and other needs.