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Photovoltaic (PV) installations are a leading technology for generating green electricity and reducing carbon emissions. Roofing highways with solar panels offers a new opportunity for PV development, but its potential of global deployment and associated socio‐economic impacts have not been investigated. Here, we combine solar PV output modeling with the global highway distribution and levelized cost of electricity to estimate the potential and economic feasibility of deploying highway PV systems worldwide. We also quantify its co‐benefits of reducing CO2 equivalent emissions and traffic losses (road traffic deaths and socio‐economic burdens). Our analysis reveals a potential for generating 17.58 PWh yr−1 of electricity, of which nearly 56% can be realized at a cost below US$100 MWh−1. Achieving the full highway PV potential could offset 28.78% (28.21%–29.1%) of the global total carbon emissions in 2018, prevent approximately 0.15 million road traffic deaths, and reduce US$0.43 ± 0.16 trillion socio‐economic burdens per year. Highway PV projects could bring a net return of about US$14.42 ± 4.04 trillion over a 25‐year lifetime. To exploit the full potential of highway PV, countries with various income levels must strengthen cooperation and balance the multiple socio‐economic co‐benefits. Plain Language Summary: Global efforts are underway to diversify environmentally sustainable strategies for photovoltaic (PV) installations to enhance the accessibility of green electricity. Here, we propose an innovative strategy to roof highways with PV panels and evaluate their electricity generation potential and social‐economic co‐benefits. Our analysis reveals that globally deploying highway PV systems across existing highway networks has the potential to generate 17,578 TWh of electricity annually, offsetting nearly 28% of concurrent global carbon emissions. Additionally, the highway PV could potentially prevent 150,000 traffic deaths annually and bring profits amounting to $14.42 trillion over a 25‐year lifetime. We emphasize that the highway PV may serve as a crucial nexus for promoting human, environmental, and economic sustainability. Key Points: We estimate the potential for roofing highways with solar panels worldwide and the associated co‐benefitsGlobal highway photovoltaics (PV) could generate 17.58 PWh yr−1 of electricity, 56% of which is attainable at a cost below $100 MWh−1Highway PV could offset 28.78% of current CO2 emissions, avoid 150,000 traffic deaths, and reduce the socio‐economic burden by $0.43 trillion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the national "3060" dual carbon energy strategy, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project will bring opportunity to China's western district. In the carbon limitation background, decarbonization methods should be valued to compensate the significant carbon emissions from the hydraulic engineering project. As the world biggest water transfer project, the South-to-North Water Division Project has completed the first phase of the Center Route and East Route, and its West Route is under plan discussion. In consideration of the carbon emissions from the hydraulic project, we introduced a new mode combining energy and hydraulic engineering for decarbonization, by installing the photovoltaic panels upon the water and protection zone, named as photovoltaic Tianhe. Based on the original length of 2 300 km for the West Route, the length for photovoltaic panels of 1000 km, including the water and protection zone, and the total area of 120 km² were assumed. The whole photovoltaic volume would reach 14.4 GW, which will produce yearly 18.7 billion kW h green electricity, save 2.3 million tons of the coal, and reduce 6.03 million tons of the CO2 emission to help decarbonize the whole West Route project. Taking 1 MW as the baseline, the return on investment of the photovoltaic project is calculated as 14 years, which could be shortened by low-interest loan and new technology. According to the above research, we made two policy suggestions: firstly, the energy and hydraulic combination mode should be considered within the West Route's planning phase, building photovoltaic Tianhe project upon the water panel; secondly, to establish several water-solar combined green energy bases along the West Route, composing of ground photovoltaic power station, water floating photovoltaic power station and pumped-storage hydroelectricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]