The main goal of this project is to provide enough information to NorthWestern Energy regarding the implementation of a Solar Acoustical Barrier in Bozeman. The final deliverable of this project will be a report detailing the findings of the group; as a result there will not be a physical device/structure that is built. Due to this, the design specifications of this project do not include numerical design values, or specifications that must be met for two devices to be successfully interconnected. Instead, the specifications for this project consist of questions that when answered will provide enough information to NorthWestern Energy, such that they will be able to make an informed business decision on whether or not to implement a Solar Acoustical Barrier in Bozeman, or other cities throughout their service territory. The reasoning behind why the group chose to go about solving this capstone project through a ‘philosophical’ approach is discussed in the following section.


The questions that need to be answered during this project include:


  1. Can solar panels reduce noise?

  2. What is the expected power output of a Solar Acoustical Barrier?

  3. What is the characterization of traffic noise?

  4. What are the ideal Solar Acoustical Barrier design parameters?

  5. How does a Solar Acoustical Barrier compare to existing sound barriers?

  6. What role does location play in Solar Acoustical Barrier performance?

  7. What are potential safety and social risks?

  8. What are the relevant codes?


These eight sub-questions represent what the group determined to be the important elements of this project that, when answered, will provide an adequate amount of information about a Solar Acoustical Barrier to NorthWestern Energy. When answering the eight sub-questions, each sub-question will be broken down into smaller questions, that are small enough to be answered next semester through experiments and research.