Road pavement energy harvesting: A technological, economical and cost-benefit analysis

ABSTRACT

With the growing need for cleaner energy sources, research into the energy harvesting industry has increased over the last years. Roadways and transport infrastructure are promising contexts for energy harvesting due to their global coverage, being continuously exposed to everyday traffic-induced pressures. This study presents a model for Technical and Economic Analysis, as well as a Cost-Benefit Analysis model for Road Pavement Energy Harvesting systems. These models are then applied in a grid injection scenario, testing their applicability on a system developed by a startup company. Results show that the tested technology is economically viable for scenarios under subsidized regimes, but not yet for grid injection applications, suggesting the need for financial incentives in the field. However, it is argued that these systems hold major social and environmental value, enabling different types of business models that might increase stakeholders’ motivation to invest.

KEYWORDS:

• Energy harvesting
• road pavement energy harvesting
• technical and economic analysis
• Cost-Benefit analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Abbreviations

CBA - Cost-Benefit Analysis

CO₂ - Carbon Dioxide

DES - Distributed Energy System

EU - European Union

GI – Grid Injection

IEA - International Energy Agency

IRR - Internal Rate of Return

LCOE - Levelized cost of electricity (€/kWh)

NVP – Net Present Value

PPW – Price Per Installed Watt (€)

PV – Photovoltaic

ROC - Return of capital | payback (years)

RPEH - Road Pavement Energy Harvesting

SA - Sensitivity analysis

SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals

TEA - Technical and Economic Analysis

TRL - Technology Readiness Level

TINV – Total investment - period (€)

YRS - Number of years (years)

Nomenclature

Notations:

AADT - Annual average daily traffic (vehicles/day)

AEG - Annual energy generated (kWh) total amount of energy generated over the project

ATE - Annual traffic evolution (%)

CAPEX - Initial capital invested (€)

CCF - CO₂ conversion factor (kWh to g CO₂)

CF - Capacity factor (%)

CFLO - Cash-flow (€)

CFLOU - Updated Cash-flow (€)

COP - Total CO₂ avoided - period (ton)

COY – CO₂ avoided per year (ton)

CVT - CO₂ value per ton (€/ton)

DT_cat - Daily traffic by vehicle category (vehicles/day)

DTEG - Daily energy generated (kWh)

EEP – Extra Equipment Price (€)

EGV_cat - Average energy generated by vehicle category (cat), per module (J)

EHW - RPEH device’s surface width (m)

ERV_cat - Average energy released by vehicle category (J)

GIAEP - GI - Annual energy price (€/kWh)

GIAI - GI - Annual income (€)

GIEP - GI - Energy price - initial (€/kWh)

GIPI - GI - Total income - period (€)

GIYE - GI - Annual price evolution (%)

ICPM - Installation cost per RPEH unit (€)

INF - Annual price inflation (%)

IPM - Installed power per module (W)

LAT - Lane annual traffic - average (vehicles)

LDT - Lane daily traffic - average (vehicles)

NL - Number of road lanes

NMI - Number of installed RPEH units

NMP - Number of RPEH devices installed meters

OCI - Other costs involved (€)

OPEX - Annual operational costs (€)

TD_cat - Traffic distribution by vehicle category (%)

TE_ge - Total energy generated - period (kWh)

TIP - Total installed power (W)

VCP - Total avoided CO₂ valuation - period (€)

VCY - Avoided CO₂ valuation per year (€)

YMP - Yearly maintenance cost per unit (€)

Ƞ - Energy conversion efficiency (%)