Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Harvesting Roadside Wind Energy
EPA Grant Number: SU834329Title: Harvesting Roadside Wind Energy
Investigators: Zhong, Linghao , Llyod, Bradley , Hamilton, James , Brenner, Joseph , Dahal, Rochak , Herzog, Zig
Institution: Pennsylvania State University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2009 through August 14, 2010
Project Amount: $9,958
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Our objective is to study the feasibility of harvesting roadside wind caused by passing vehicles, especially 18-wheel trucks, and convert it to electricity. There are three questions we want to answer:
- Does this technology abide by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation highway regulations?
- What is the energy output from such an instrument?
- What are the possible applications of such a technology?
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
For the first question, we have tried different routes to reach the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and request permission to attach an anemometer on the guardrails along Interstate I-81. However, due to the lack of current policy guiding such activities, PennDOT has to go through a full process to make such a guideline, including steps such as request a review process and drafting of an agreement between PennDOT's legal department and PSU's legal department. The process is so lengthy that even though we sent our request in October 2009, an approval has not been granted as of March 2010.
Not being able to install an anemometer along I-81, we are not able to carry out the experiment to answer the second questions. To circumvent this situation, we searched for other facilities that would allow us to collect data without going through such a lengthy process. A nearby 1-mile long track in Letter Kenny Army Depot is suitable for our study. Fortunately, Letter Kenny agreed to help us and allow us to bring our instrument onsite for data collection when the combat vehicles are tested on the track. Based on their schedule, we will not be able to start this study until late March or early April. Currently, our instrument has been designed, constructed, and tested. We just need to collect the data at Letter Kenny Army Depot and then analyze them afterwards. We expect to bring our results and conclusions to the P3 Expo in April.
We have not had the opportunity to answer the third question at the present time; however, our team has discussed the possible applications. Examples include highway safety signs, weather stations, and traffic monitors in remote areas where a hardwire power line is expensive or not an option.
A photo of our team was used as the cover for the Penn State Mont Alto Alumni publication – The Bridge. We will present our project at the Penn State Mont Alto Academic Festival (April 2010).
Conclusions:
Our first conclusion is that the Pennsylvania State government lacks a policy for such requests. In communication with another team from New York State, we found that we are not alone in such a situation; New York also lacks such policy. The good news is that PennDOT was willing to investigate and come up with such a policy, and our request is being considered. The downside is, it is a lengthy process that may take years.
How much energy can such a technology provide? We still expect to get approval from PennDOT to install an anemometer along I-81, so that we can collect data in a real situation. However, we are going to use a track at the Letter Kenny Army Depot to collect data that resembles, to a certain extent, highway traffic. As this experiment has not been carried out at this moment, we cannot make any conclusions.
Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies:
We are still waiting for PennDOT to permit us to install the anemometer along I-18 and the timeline for receiving this is unknown. Without any data, we cannot propose Phase II activities at this time.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 5 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Windmill, alternative energy, wind energy, sustainabilityThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.