Tell your state leaders to consider solar sound barriers for transport!

Startup Ko Solar is now offering turnkey solar sound barriers ready to be placed along highways, train tracks, or airport runways to block noise while producing power! They’ve partnered with German noise barrier company R. Kohlhauser to integrate high-efficiency, low-glare solar panels into barriers made of sound-absorbing and sound-deflecting materials, and are already in discussions with several state transportation departments. Solar sound barrier research and pilot projects are also underway in Germany, Lithuania, and Japan.

“These systems can be configured for both grid-connected and off-grid applications and can also support the integration of electric vehicle charging and battery storage solutions in both rural and urban settings, further advancing the transition to clean, resilient transportation infrastructure,”

— Koray Kotan, founder of Ko Solar.

This is another great example of the innovative new opportunities arising from the global surge of cheap photovoltaic power-generating technologies! At the dawn of the Solar Age, cheap clean power can now be generated on the side of noise barriers already required at highways, railroads, and airports, using liminal space that’s often already state-owned. It’s a no-brainer of an upgrade.

As research and investment into solar sound barriers spreads, state governments can help accelerate a virtuous cycle in several ways. On public property, state transportation budgets should invest in clean power-producing noise barriers, and state agencies should work to ensure a supportive legal, regulatory, and permitting regime for private solar sound barrier efforts!

Tell your state leaders to consider solar sound barriers for transport!