Leveraging Transportation Rights-of-Way for Energy Projects
The United States’ electric grid is strained by increasing power demand, and a lack of existing transmission capacity is hindering efforts to meet that demand with abundant, low-cost, domestic sources of electricity, including from and natural gas, solar, wind, and battery storage. As demand for electricity grows, spurred by a rapid buildout of data centers as well as increased electrification, the U.S. grid will need up to 128 percent more within-region transmission capacity and up to 412 percent more interregional transmission capacity by 2035. New transmission lines are essential to ensure grid reliability and have the potential to lower costs for ratepayers, spur economic growth, and create jobs. Unfortunately, transmission infrastructure expansion has struggled to keep pace, as these efforts face a litany of policy, permitting, and economic challenges.
Linear transportation corridors, particularly highway and railroad rights-of-way (ROW), can present uniquely advantageous opportunities for siting transmission lines, in addition to clean energy such as photovoltaic solar panels. FHWA has found that co-locating utilities in highway ROW is in the public interest and allowed by federal regulations. In recent years, transportation agencies and developers have increasingly utilized transportation properties and ROW for both transmission lines and solar projects. In addition to their potential to contribute to system-wide grid improvements, these projects can yield a variety of benefits:
Transportation agencies can reap financial benefits from transmission infrastructure through user fees paid by the utility, and from decreased maintenance costs.
Transportation agencies can site solar arrays on properties such as interchanges, structures, and maintenance sites to offset their electricity costs, save taxpayers money and help meet clean energy targets and/or provide clean electricity to nearby communities.
Developers of transmission lines can avoid the cost and delays associated with seeking easements or eminent domain over potentially thousands of private properties, due to the typically long and contiguous configuration of highway and railroad parcels.
Utilizing these properties can also help new transmission lines bypass environmentally sensitive areas and archaeological sites. Avoiding these areas can expedite environmental reviews. However, developing energy infrastructure in transportation rights-of-way comes with unique challenges.
This case study series profiles three transmission efforts and two solar projects in transportation rights-of-way. Together, these projects offer common challenges, solutions, and opportunities for maximizing public benefit through thoughtful use of the right-of-way.
Transmission
Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE): a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that will run underwater and in highway and railroad right-of-way from Canada to New York City
Minnesota’s NextGen Highways: a collaborative effort between state agencies and non-profits to promote transmission in highway right-of-way and overcome legislative barriers
SOO Green HVDC Link: a HVDC transmission line from Iowa to Illinois, sited primarily in railroad right-of-way, that will connect wind resources in the Midwest with demand centers on the East Coast
Solar
Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) solar projects: two solar arrays in interstate right-of-way and one at a MaineDOT-owned airport
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) solar projects: a pilot program consisting of two solar arrays on MnDOT properties – one on the roof of a state-owned parking garage, and one at a former gravel pit
Solutions to Common Challenges
Ensure strong collaboration and coordination between public agencies. Limited coordination between federal and state permitting agencies can lead to a higher burden on transmission and energy developers and a longer timeline for completion. In particular, siloed operations between transportation and energy agencies can hamper the development of transmission lines. Early and frequent, proactive collaboration between agencies can avoid this pitfall. Maintaining institutional knowledge across long project timelines is also key; managers should ensure knowledge of these projects is passed on to new hires when there is staff turnover.
Proactive stakeholder engagement can identify potential conflicts in right-of-way along with solutions to design and construction challenges. Existing infrastructure in the right-of-way may be related to its transportation function, such as railways’ safety and communication systems. Other infrastructure, such as utility crossings, may stem from previous utility accommodations. In some cases, such as the case of agricultural drainage infrastructure in the SOO Green HVDC Link project, infrastructure may have been installed by adjacent landowners and may not be fully known to the right-of-way manager. Proactive stakeholder engagement from the project’s inception can help anticipate these conflicts and allay the concerns of adjacent landowners and infrastructure owners.
Proactive public engagement can help the public better understand the project and build trust. The developers of CHPE and SOO Green did not have name recognition among the communities they passed through and worked to build trust with local communities. The general public may be unfamiliar with HVDC technology or the business model being utilized, and proactively answering questions about the benefits and impacts to communities along the route can help to earn communities’ trust. Hosting regular and frequent in-person and virtual gatherings can be useful to accomplish this.
Transportation agencies and developers can work together to structure a deal that addresses common concerns on both sides. Developers are financially motivated to obtain permits and construct the transmission line as soon as possible. On the other hand, transportation agencies need to ensure safety, avoid financial risks from any future utility relocation, and minimize any traffic disruption from construction. This is especially true of co-located transmission lines, which run parallel to the road or railroad for long segments, rather than comparative simple utility crossings. Developers and transportation agencies can address safety challenges by burying transmission lines or placing them further from the edge of the travel lane, using guardrails, and ensuring visibility. They can address financial risks by agreeing on compensation for the use of the right-of-way and responsibilities for relocating the transmission line if needed in the future. Finally, they can manage construction timing and practices to minimize traffic disruption.
Common Lessons Learned
Siting transmission infrastructure in transportation rights-of-way can save time and money in the long run. Co-locating new transmission infrastructure in transportation rights-of-way can allow developers to interface with one landowner rather than potentially thousands of private landowners, significantly reducing the cost and time required to secure the necessary land rights. Transportation rights-of-way also tend to be disturbed land, which can make environmental review faster and easier. Co-located transmission infrastructure can also provide a revenue stream for right-of-way owners.
Solar arrays in transportation rights-of-way can save money for state departments of transportation. MnDOT and MaineDOT will both save money on electricity by purchasing solar energy through their contracts with the solar developers. Furthermore, Maine’s Solar Array Pilot Program and Minnesota’s solar initiatives both used underutilized or dormant land, reducing their associated maintenance costs.
Environmental mitigation can help to garner support for such projects. The projects addressed community concerns regarding environmental impacts with innovative construction methods. For example, CHPE utilized methods such as horizontal drilling to avoid sensitive areas. SOO Green designed their project to be underground and avoid impacts on scenery, wildlife, and neighboring properties.
Cultivating cross-disciplinary expertise can help overcome siloes. SOO Green hired a former railway employee to help communicate effectively with the railway company. MnDOT and their non-profit partners at the NextGen Highways Coalition worked to cultivate cross-disciplinary knowledge through peer exchanges and other capacity building efforts. MaineDOT worked with the non-profit The Ray to access expert knowledge of solar development.
State-level goals motivate transmission and solar projects in the right-of-way. For all five projects, state-level environmental and/or energy goals were cited as a key motivation
Early, robust public involvement and stakeholder engagement can help project development advance smoothly. SOO Green contacted adjacent landowners before it was required by the permitting processes to stem potential conflicts around adjacent landowners’ drainage infrastructure that will be affected by the transmission line. Both Maine and Minnesota state agencies prioritized stakeholder engagement to ensure the success of their solar initiatives. MaineDOT actively involved local communities in informational sessions to build support for the project and address potential concerns related to land use and visual impacts. This transparent approach fostered public trust and paved the way for smoother project approval. In Minnesota, MnDOT collaborated with environmental NGOs, business organizations, and community groups to align project goals with broader environmental and social values. These partnerships helped ensure that the solar projects met community needs while advancing renewable energy goals.
Conclusion
The use of transportation rights-of-way for energy projects, whether transmission lines or solar installations, presents a promising path for achieving energy goals while minimizing land use conflicts and environmental impacts. The experiences of these five projects demonstrate the value of strategic planning, stakeholder collaboration, and adaptive regulatory strategies in ensuring the successful integration of energy within existing transportation right-of-way.