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Wouldn’t it be nice if our roads act like solar panels?
SolaRoad, the world’s first public road with embedded solar panels was opened last week nearby Amsterdam.
It’s only a 70-metre stretch of the bike path, connecting the city's suburbs of Krommenie and Wormerveer, but it may change our future.
Constructed by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) at a cost of some €3m (£2.4m) and, the SolaRoad is made up of rows of crystalline silicon solar cells embedded in 2.5 by 3.5 metres concrete modules and protected by a thick translucent layer of tempered glass finished with a rough plastic coating to prevent cyclists from slipping. A non-adhesive finish is meant to help the rain wash off dirt and ensuring maximum exposure to sunlight.
Even though the solar panels are less efficient than those installed on to roofs, when the path is extended to 100 metres in 2016, the SolaRoad may produce enough energy to power three households. For a three-year period, various measurements will be taken and tests performed to enable SolaRoad to undergo further development
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If successful, the scheme could potentially be adapted to the Netherlands' 140,000-km (87,000-mile) road network, generating as much energy as the country currently uses to power nearly 4 million of dwellings.
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