Solar Roads

One drawback of solar farms is that they occupy lots of land which could otherwise be used for agriculture. So engineers have been designing ways to incorporate solar panels into other surfaces, including floor tiles, roof shingles and even a bicycle path. Now, a French engineering firm has developed panels that will withstand the weight of just about any type of traffic, bringing the promise of solar roads closer to reality than ever.

Layers of plastic are used to create a durable casing that protects the electrical components, and crushed glass is added to the top layer to produce an anti-slip surface. The product, known as Wattway, is strong enough to hold up to an 18-wheeler. The first test site, a 2,800-square-meter section of roadway in the village of Tourouvre, France, is expected to generate 280 kilowatts at peak capacity and will be linked to the public lighting system.

Other test sites throughout the EU, Africa, Asia and North America will test for different types of traffic and climate conditions. Each will also experiment with different forms of power generation – feeding into the grid, charging electric vehicles, or powering a hydrogen power plant or street lighting.

At a cost of €2,000 (about US$2,100) per square meter, applications for the technology are currently limited to proof-of-concept demonstrations. However, the developers believe that pricing for the new solar roadways will be competitive with traditional solar farms by 2020.