The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) and the Costa Rican Road Safety Council (COSEVI) had announced last year the plan to operate the entire Centralized Traffic System with the use of solar power, this system consists of 474 intersections with traffic lights located in San Jose, Cartago, Heredia and Alajuela, the project has now entered its fourth stage.
In this new stage, photovoltaic systems will be installed to another 110 stop lights in the capital city, this work involves and investment of 830 million colones (approximately $1,373, 500 USD), funds provided by COSEVI.
The works are overseen by the General Direction of Transit Engineering and involve excavation work, wiring, among others.
By December 2018 a total 345 transit lights will already work with solar energy, which represents 73% of all the devices.
The project has the purpose of improving road safety in the different sectors, since in the case of power failures the traffic lights would not be affected, avoiding possible accidents or traffic jams.
In addition to solar panels, lithium batteries are placed in the system to allow energy to be stored so that the devices can operate up to 14 hours with the absence of sunlight. And if for some reason the battery storage is insufficient, the lights automatically switch to the electrical system so that their operation will not be interrupted.
MOPT and COSEVI expect to have the totality of the traffic lights of the Centralized System operating with solar energy by 2020.
In this new stage, photovoltaic systems will be installed to another 110 stop lights in the capital city, this work involves and investment of 830 million colones (approximately $1,373, 500 USD), funds provided by COSEVI.
The works are overseen by the General Direction of Transit Engineering and involve excavation work, wiring, among others.
By December 2018 a total 345 transit lights will already work with solar energy, which represents 73% of all the devices.
The project has the purpose of improving road safety in the different sectors, since in the case of power failures the traffic lights would not be affected, avoiding possible accidents or traffic jams.
In addition to solar panels, lithium batteries are placed in the system to allow energy to be stored so that the devices can operate up to 14 hours with the absence of sunlight. And if for some reason the battery storage is insufficient, the lights automatically switch to the electrical system so that their operation will not be interrupted.
MOPT and COSEVI expect to have the totality of the traffic lights of the Centralized System operating with solar energy by 2020.
