Incorporation of Solar Powered Safety Lights Along the Blue Ridge Parkway Award Number: DE-EE0006621 CX(s) Applied: B5.1 Federal Emergency Management Program Date: 07/28/2014 Location(s): NC Office(s): Golden Field Office
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
March 7, 2016
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Incorporation of Solar Powered Safety Lights Along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Award Number: DE-EE0006621
CX(s) Applied: B5.1
Federal Emergency Management Program
Date: 07/28/2014
Location(s): NC
Office(s): Golden Field Office
The Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to provide funding to the National Parks Service for the proposed ‘Incorporation of Solar Powered Safety Lights Along the Blue Ridge Parkway’ project. The National Parks Service is proposing to replace existing safety lights on gates and signs along the Blue Ridge Parkway with solar powered light units. This project was selected by DOE under the Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0000901).
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469 mile long motor road located in Virginia and North Carolina. The park has many access points along its length that allow the public to enter or leave the mainline at various places along its length. At times during the year, especially during winter or inclement weather, the parkway becomes unsafe for vehicular travel. To limit travel during these unsafe times, gates and signs with flashing safety lights are placed along the mainline to warn the public of the unsafe conditions and to prevent entry on the Parkway. At the present time, most of these lights are powered by two 6-volt alkaline batteries. This project would utilize funds made available through DOE to purchase solar safety lights for installation on gates and signs along the Blue Ridge Parkway mainline road. DOE funds would be paired with Parkway provided labor to remove alkaline battery-powered lights and install and operate the solar powered lights on the gates and signs. The lights units are self-contained with a small solar array located directly on the safety light. The entire light measures approximately 12” tall x 8” long x 4” wide with the solar panel located either on the base or the top of the light.