If you think solar energy could only be harnessed by the conventional solar panel placed on rooftops or close to each street light, think again. Imagine your parking lots, sidewalks, driveways, tarmacs, plazas, playgrounds, garden paths, pool surrounds and the lined up with modular solar panels all not just providing adequate driving and walking surface but also generating green energy. To add to this, think of smart roadways lined up with LEDs capable of fully customizable road markings.
This smart roadway is being developed by Idaho startup called Solar Roadways and is planned to be used in the reworking of an unspecified part the iconic Route 66. Combining road development with solar energy generation would pave way for roads that pay for themselves. States would easily generate their own revenue, power and create motorable highways at the same time!
Solar Roadways, made of tempered glass is a modular system of specially engineered solar panels engineered solar panels that can be walked and driven upon. The panels contain LED lights to create paint free lines and signage. They contain heating elements to prevent snow and ice accumulation.
The 'smart' part of this roadway is the integration of microprocessors which allow the panels to communicate with each other and a central control center - as well as vehicles. Bing modular, the road are easily repaired when necessary without the need to rework entire sections disrupting traffic in the process. Electric Vehicles (EV) will be charged with clean energy.
A similar project in the Netherlands, where a 70meter section of bike path was paved with these solar panels was able to generate enough electricity in six months to power a single family home for an entire year. If all roadways, sidewalks and bike paths were paved in these solar panels, the power needs of the whole world would be a thing of the past.
If the pilot projects are a success, solar roads may well be the future for roadways and a viable power source in the forseeable future.
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