Skip to main content

Portuguese toll operator cuts energy costs

Portuguese motorway toll operator Brisa Auto Estradas de Portugal says it is saving over 10 per cent of its electricity costs – worth over US$430,000 – as a result of an energy efficiency plan which was launched in 2010. Electricity consumption accounts for 54 per cent of Brisa’s total energy expenditure, half of which is for the lighting systems of the motorway network.
April 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Portuguese motorway toll operator 2051 BRISA Auto Estradas de Portugal says it is saving over 10 per cent of its electricity costs – worth over US$430,000 – as a result of an energy efficiency plan which was launched in 2010.

Electricity consumption accounts for 54 per cent of Brisa’s total energy expenditure, half of which is for the lighting systems of the motorway network. The company adjusted the timings of the operation of these systems in line with the solar time cycle. In other cases, it has reduced the power of the lightning system from 400Watt to 250Watt and from 250Watt to 150Watt. In 2010 the savings achieved with these policies totalled 11,372 Gigajoules. All subsidiaries reduced the consumption of electricity and the cut on the energy was estimated at 10.9% across the group.

More recently, Brisa has been testing solar panels to power equipment installed along motorways such as SOS telephones, road signs, and cameras, while Brisa’s US subsidiary, Northwest Parkway in Colorado, has recently closed a deal for the installation of photovoltaic panels along 18 km of its motorways.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Truck platooning trials take to the highways
    July 24, 2017
    There is rising enthusiasm in America and beyond for the concept of truck platooning with trials being planned in several US states, as David Crawford reports. Growing numbers of US states are considering or implementing plans for trials of electronically-linked truck platooning on public road networks. This is in response to the interest being shown by the US$70bn a year road freight industry, where fuel represents 41% of the operating costs making the prospect of improving fuel economy by trucks travellin
  • Truck platooning trials take to the highways
    July 24, 2017
    There is rising enthusiasm in America and beyond for the concept of truck platooning with trials being planned in several US states, as David Crawford reports. Growing numbers of US states are considering or implementing plans for trials of electronically-linked truck platooning on public road networks. This is in response to the interest being shown by the US$70bn a year road freight industry, where fuel represents 41% of the operating costs making the prospect of improving fuel economy by trucks travellin
  • Lighting upgrade completed on UK motorway
    May 18, 2017
    UK civil and electrical engineering firm, McCann, has completed the lighting upgrades on a 19km stretch of the M62 motorway between J22-25, replacing 1,224 existing high pressure sodium lanterns with new Ampera Maxi LED lighting units. The project, coordinated by Highways England’s term contractor A-one+, also included the installation of a new central management system, with remote manipulation of operational burn hours, control over the timing of dimmed lighting when there is minimal traffic and fault mon
  • LowCVP calls on truck operators and others to focus on cutting truck emissions
    October 22, 2015
    To coincide with its participation in the new Freight in the City event on 27 October, the LowCVP is calling on fleet operators, local authorities and others to join forces in building the market for heavy goods vehicles which cut carbon, reduce emissions and lower fuel costs. In earlier research, the LowCVP has identified three main opportunities for cutting emissions from HGVs which pointed to the need for specific interventions: independent testing to validate the effectiveness of retrofit technology