Feasibility criteria of photovoltaic noise barriers (PVNB)

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of integrated photovoltaic noise barriers (PVNB) as technical and environmental viable solutions to cope with situations where the acoustic limits are exceeded due to road infrastructures interference with residential or protected areas. In order to achieve this target, the acoustic, photovoltaic and structural constraints of the PVNB barriers were analyzed as parts of a composite and complex system, where the design parameters are multiple, multidisciplinary and dependent on the installation site context. The feasibility criteria and parameters had been defined and validated trough the application of such criteria to the analysis of two real scenarios, namely an urban and a suburban case studies. The results of the urban case study analysis clearly showed that PVNB barriers are in general not applicable, while PVNBs represent a viable and interesting solution in suburban contexts. The PVNB installed in suburban contexts showed several positive aspects, from both the technical and the environmental point of view, provided that all the identified guidelines are fulfilled.