Do you ever feel like you’re living in the future? No, that’s just me…? Well, maybe this will change your mind: a startup was just awarded $100,000 by the Department of Transportation to prototype its Solar Road Panel. The Solar Road Panel will be made of glass and solar cells, and will be embedded with programmable LEDs. The company, Idaho-based Solar Roadways, envisions a nation powered by its solar highway system. A one-mile stretch of four lane highway paved with Solar Roadway segments would allegedly produce over 13 MWh/day: not too shabby. If you use an average daily residential electrical consumption of 30 kWh, that means one mile of highway could power over 400 homes. Naturally, you ask: how do they work?
The panels consist of three layers:
Road Surface Layer – translucent and high-strength, it is rough enough to provide great traction, yet still passes sunlight through to the solar collector cells. It is capable of handling today’s heaviest loads under the worst of conditions. Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer beneath it.
Electronics Layer – Contains a large array of cells, the bulk of which will contain solar collecting cells with LEDs for “painting” the road surface. These cells also contain the “Super” or “Ultra” caps that store the sun’s energy for later use. Since each Solar Road Panel™ manages its own electricity generation, storage, and distribution, they can heat themselves in northern climates to eliminate snow and ice accumulation. No more snow/ice removal and no more school/business closings due to inclement weather. The on-board microprocessor controls lighting, communications, monitoring, etc. With a communications device every 12 feet, the Solar Roadway™ is an intelligent highway system.
Base Plate Layer - While the electronics layer collects and stores the energy from the sun, it is the base plate layer that distributes power (collected from the electronics layer) and data signals (phone, TV, internet, etc.) “downline” to all homes and businesses connected to the Solar Roadway™. The power and data signals are passed through each of the four sides of the base plate layer. Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer above it.
I think it’s a great concept. Whether it’s a concept that could ever come to fruition…that’s another story. The tens of thousands of miles of highway engineered around a different substance; the staggering cost of the replacement process, let alone the solar panel infused roadway production to begin with; the need to see, with my own eyes, a bunch of LEDs managing to melt off a January blizzard. And the creator of Solar Roadways quotes Wikipedia on their webpage at one point–not confidence-inspiring. I still look forward to watching this technology go through the development stages and be tested for viability. It’s certainly thinking outside the box, and making use of solar energy in a truly innovative way.
What a creative idea! It seems to me to be something that could become plausible, especially for new development, as advances in material science make the technology more and more affordable. How about a way for electric cars to draw electricity directly from the road?