What If Every Freeway Was Also a Solar Farm: Los Angeles' Bold Experiment

California needs to add 110 gigawatts of new solar by 2045. It is running out of uncontested land to put it on. In this video, we break down why Los Angeles' 52,000 lane miles of state highways — the interchanges, the medians, the embankment slopes, the land nobody uses — could be the answer. A 2024 study published in Earth's Future found that covering the world's highways with solar panels would generate more than four times the annual energy output of the United States and reduce traffic accidents by 10.8 percent. California passed SB 49 to find out what that means for its own freeways, requiring Caltrans to produce a strategic plan by December 2025. Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Diego counties alone have nearly one gigawatt of identified potential. The freeway built this city. The question California is now asking is whether it can also power it. Watts Around The World covers clean energy solutions from every corner of the planet every week. Subscribe so you don't miss what's next.