Sunny Side of the Street: Can Roads Be Used to Generate Solar Power?
You've probably seen the small solar panels that power signs and traffic signals along city streets and country roads in many communities. What if that same concept could be applied more broadly, by turning "the street where you live" into a giant solar collector that could power your home?Using road surfaces to generate clean solar power is an innovative idea that is now being explored in both Europe and the United States. Most of the technology already exists, and engineers are confident they can produce a glass surface that is heat resistant and shatter-proof, provides traction comparable to asphalt, and can bear the weight of fully loaded 18-wheelers zipping along at high speeds.
Assuming the technical challenges can be overcome, experts believe that turning highways into solar collectors as well as transportation corridors could generate enough electricity not only to keep roads brightly lit and ice-free, but also to meet the electricity needs of the entire world.
Overcoming the economic and political challenges might be another story. Replacing current road surfaces with new solar technology would be expensive, and persuading Congress and multiple federal agencies to make the change could be tough. Learn more about the potential of solar highways and the tests that are already underway to prove their feasibility.
Photo courtesy of Zelda Go Wild/Flickr
Comments
Great article as usual.
I want to add that this is nothing new though. There have been people considering the topic since at least the 70s when some engineers I know proposed to put tubes inside and under roadways to use the heat to evaporate a liquid and generate pressure to drive a turbine, and re-condense much like what happens with a heat pump or refrigerator.
Alternately the vast amount of growing space used for the shoulders and median strips could readily be used to grow biofuel feedstocks as these areas are already required to be maintained for safety reasons. It would make those spaces effective solar collectors using the mechanism of photosynthesis.
Such an approach would tie in very well with a non-food based biofuels system such as what we have proposed as part of the Greener Ohio Sustainability Plan.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
JWA
wow, if that worked we wouldnt have any problems. i sure hope that this works.
well its common sence its not gonna happin over night and it will be expensive yes but in the long run and the bennifits of this solar is better
This is so cool! I love these innovations. It reminds me of a contest “Bright Ideas WINS” where you write what innovations you have adopted to help you live a more climate-friendly life and you could win a portable solar panel!