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Solar project on highway operated by Olympia Odos shows how side areas, operational roofs, and toll covers can gain an energy function without altering the asphalt, creating a photovoltaic network integrated into the routine of a road concession in Greece.
Greece has started using structures linked to the highway operated by Olympia Odos also as an energy source, with a solar program of 10 MWp installed in side areas, toll covers, and operational roofs.
The initiative brings together 19 photovoltaic parks distributed along the concession and was presented by the company as the largest project of its kind ever developed on a Greek highway, with production aimed at the electrical demand of road operation.
According to Olympia Odos, the energy generated meets systems linked to the functioning of the road, such as lighting, variable message panels, control equipment, and tunnel ventilation, without installing solar modules directly on the pavement.
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Solar highway without panels on the asphalt
The expression “solar highway” is usually associated with tracks covered with photovoltaic panels prepared to receive cars, trucks, rain, dirt, and wear caused by heavy traffic.
In the Greek experience, however, the generation occurs in conventional solar energy structures, positioned within the operational range of the concession and in locations that already belong to the road system.
With this configuration, the modules are not subjected to the weight of vehicles nor to the daily abrasion of tires, factors that, in photovoltaic pavements, increase the requirements for resistance and maintenance.
By using existing side lands, roofs, and covers, Olympia Odos incorporates electricity generation into the functioning road without altering the function of the driving lanes or replacing the asphalt.
Solar panels in Achaia, Corinth, and Western Attica
The photovoltaic network was distributed across the regions of Achaia, Corinth, and Western Attica, following sections of the highway operated by the concessionaire, according to information released by Olympia Odos itself.
The panels occupy areas near the road layout, toll station covers, and roofs of operational centers, bringing generation closer to the consumption points of the concession.
This proximity between production and use makes the application directly linked to road operation, as electricity was presented as a source for the transportation infrastructure itself.
In practice, the highway ceases to act solely as a consumer of electricity and begins to integrate renewable generation used in essential services for safety, control, and vehicle circulation.
Model reduces exposure to heavy traffic
The difference compared to solar pavements is in the installation location, as the panels are not exposed to direct contact with tires, heavy loads, braking, oil, debris, and interventions on traffic lanes.
In proposals that use modules on the track bed, the panels need to be protected by resistant and transparent materials, as well as maintain adherence, visibility, road safety, and efficiency in solar capture.
In the model adopted by Olympia Odos, the panels remain off the driving lanes, in arrangements similar to traditional solar parks, while the coordinated use of road spaces is the main difference.
By being off the track, the equipment does not receive the same mechanical load from traffic, and any technical interventions can be planned without replacing modules installed directly on the pavement.
Toll booths and roofs become generation points
The toll covers are part of the program because they are already constructed surfaces, with solar exposure and the presence of electrical infrastructure within the concessionaire’s operational routine.
With the installation of panels at these points, the company utilizes existing areas of the road system and expands generation without relying exclusively on land separate from the concession.
The roofs of operational centers also follow this logic, as they cover buildings related to control, service, monitoring, communication, technical support, and traffic management along the highway.
Added to the lateral terrains, these surfaces increase the installed capacity without requiring changes to the road layout, keeping the solar generation connected to the assets that already support the operation.
Investment in renewable energy in the concession
The program was inaugurated in July 2025, in Kiato, with the presence of the Greek Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Dimas, and representatives from Olympia Odos and companies linked to the concession.
According to the official release, the investment exceeds 10 million euros and was developed in less than two years within the framework of the concession contract signed between Olympia Odos and the Greek State.
The shareholder structure mentioned by the concessionaire involves VINCI Highways and the companies Avax, Aktor, and TERNA, linked to the development, financing, and operation of the highway associated with Olympia Odos.
The company reported that the implementation through the concession model allowed for the mobilization of private investment in public infrastructure, focusing on reducing external energy consumption in the operation of the highway.
Olympia Odos environmental goal by 2030
The implementation of the 19 photovoltaic parks is part of the concessionaire’s declared plan to reduce its carbon footprint and advance towards the goal of zeroing direct emissions by 2030.
The company also relates the program to other efficiency and electrification measures, such as expanded use of LED lighting and the expansion of fast chargers for electric vehicles along the operated network.
These actions cover both the internal consumption of the concession and the infrastructure offered to users, although the solar program’s energy has been primarily presented as a resource for the operational needs of the highway.
In the debate about solar roads, the Greek case presents a different configuration from the drivable photovoltaic tracks, by concentrating the modules in lateral structures, roofs, covers, and technical areas of the concession itself.
Solar energy integrated into road infrastructure
The capacity of 10 MWp places the project on a larger scale than isolated solar installations in small support buildings, without requiring the replacement of conventional pavement with special panels.
The proposal relies on a common feature of major highways: the existence of technical areas, parking lots, roofs, tunnels, control centers, and side lands that consume or can receive electricity generation.
When these spaces are integrated into a single energy plan, the road combines transportation and local energy production, maintaining its primary function of moving people and goods.
In the case of Olympia Odos, solar production was structured to meet a permanent demand, consisting of lighting, ventilation, dynamic signage, operational control, and other systems that keep the highway operational.
The experience maintains challenges of network connection, operation, and maintenance, but records an alternative for solar generation on highways based on the use of underutilized areas, without placing modules under trucks and cars.
Reference for Brazilian highways
In Brazil, where the granted network includes toll plazas, operational bases, control centers, technical areas, parking lots, walkways, tunnels, and side lanes, the Greek experience can serve as a reference to evaluate the energy use of existing structures in concessions.
Without replacing asphalt with panels, this model shifts solar generation to spaces linked to the road operation itself, which opens a discussion about energy efficiency, electricity costs, maintenance, and the use of areas already integrated into the highways.
If tolls, operational roofs, and side lands can help a road produce the energy it consumes, would this type of solution make sense on Brazilian highways?
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