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Generating electric power from photovoltaic solar cells is a long-established and proven technology. Yet, it’s not without drawbacks. Cost still remains prohibitive for many people, although this is decreasing each year. Another is finding suitable places for the flat panels: places exposed to the sun, where large installations are out of the way. In built-up areas, the roof of a building is the usual choice. Alternatively, large arrays of panels capable of generating huge amounts of electricity are located in remote places, like deserts.
However, two overseas companies have come up with an innovative way to harness solar power, and keep our cities burning.
American company Solar Roadways has suggested a possibly perfect location for extensive arrays of panels even in built-up areas: the road network. It has visions of replacing asphalt surfaces with special solar panels to power cities across the country.
According to Solar Roadways co-founder Scott Brusaw, his vision of electric roads dates back to his early childhood where he drew pictures of a version of an electric road before most people had ever even heard of solar power. An early career in oil exploration showed Brusaw how dependent the world is upon foreign oil – something he acknowledges as a driving force behind his work on the Solar Roadways project.
Working with his wife, Julie, from a state-of-the-art electronics lab at his home, Brusaw has spent the last ten years attempting to realise his dream of the Solar Roadway System.
“Our long range goal is to cover all concrete and asphalt surfaces that are exposed to the sun with Solar Road Panels. This will lead to the end of our dependency on fossil fuels of any kind,” write Scott and Julie Brusaw on their website.
“We’re aware that this won’t happen overnight. We’ll need to start off small: driveways, bike paths, patios, sidewalks, parking lots, playgrounds, etc. This is where we’ll learn our lessons and perfect our system. Once the lessons have been learned and the bugs have all been resolved, we’ll plan to move out onto public roads.”
Their idea is an ambitious one, however a $100 000 development grant from the US Department of Transport and a further grant through the GE Ecomagination Challenge program, has allowed Solar Roadways to come up with a prototype.
On their website, Solar Roadways claims that with just four hours of sunshine a day, a mile (1.6 kilometres) of four-lane “solar roadway” would provide enough electric power for 428 homes. Theoretically, enough solar powered roads would eliminate the need to produce electricity by any other means.
Many may question if a road of solar panels could ever be cost-effective. At almost triple the cost per square metre compared to asphalt, the cost of using solar panels is significant. However, solar panels also have three-times the life-span of an ashphalt surface, thereby equalising the economic impact of the new technology. But unlike asphalt, solar roadways have a number of benefits.
For one, asphalt does not generate electricity, whereas a solar panel roadway has the potential to start paying for itself as soon as it is opened. And for a relatively modest additional cost, the panels could do much more than just generate power. With LEDs embedded, the panels could selectively display illuminated road markings and messages. It has also been proposed that panels with built-in heating elements could keep the road surface free of ice and snow. Safety features, such as pressure sensors, could also be embedded within the panels, warning oncoming drivers of potential hazards or accidents on the road.
“For roughly the same cost of the current systems (roads and fossil fuel burning electricity generation plants), the Solar Roadways can be implemented,” write Scott and Julie.
“Unlike current road systems, it will pay for itself over time. No more global warming. No more power outages (roaming or otherwise). Safer driving conditions. Far less pollution. A new secure highway infrastructure that pays for itself. A decentralised, self-healing, secure power grid. No more dependency on foreign oil. The real question may be: what will be the cost if we don’t implement the Solar Roadways?”
Meanwhile, in bicycle-friendly Holland, Dutch company TNO has proposed a similar technology to be piloted across cycling paths in Noord-Holland.
According to TNO, SolaRoad’s potential for electricity generation is significant if the technology is expanded across the country’s road networks.
“The Dutch road network comprises some 137,000 kilometres and the anticipated annual electricity generation lies around 50 kWh per square metre. An average household uses about 3,500 kWh of electricity per year,” the company claims on their website.
The cycle path will be constructed of concrete elements measuring 1.5 by 2.5 metres, containing a glass top layer. Beneath the thick hardened glass layer lies crystal silicon solar cells. It is expected that the pilot program will determine how the energy will be used and how smart ICT applications can enable the energy produced in peak periods to be distributed as efficiently as possible.
The first practical application of SolaRoad is scheduled for completion in 2012.
