America trialling solar-powered roads

Solar Roadways

After glow-in-the-dark road markings proved to be a bit of a flop when the paint washed away in the rain, experts are now experimenting with solar-powered motorways.

A small, family-owned American company based in Idaho called Solar Roadways has created a short section of road that uses the sun’s energy to power nearby buildings, as well as electric cars.

If the solar-powered roads are adopted worldwide, it could put an end to the range-anxiety commonly associated with electric vehicles. Instead of relying on charging points, the cars would simply charge up as you drive along.
 

The ambitious project uses recycled glass, turned into a series of inter-connected hexagons containing solar technology.

If you’re tempted to steal a tile, they’ll be easily traceable

The top, reinforced glass layer can support trucks up to 115,000kg and features a grippy surface that prevents vehicles sliding out of control in wet weather.

It also contains small, LED lights powered by the sun. These, Solar Roadways says, will allow the roads to become ‘smart roads’, lighting up to provide guidance to drivers. For example, they could warn drivers of hazards ahead, or even create temporary parking bays.

Heating elements fitted in to the hexagonal solar panels could instantly clear away snow and ice that falls on them – but, the maker warns, this would be powered by the mains grid, as the sun simply isn’t powerful enough.

Solar Roadways

The company reckons about 31,000 square miles of roads in the USA could be transformed into solar-powered roads.

The prototypes have been designed under contract from the Federal Highway Administration but now the makers are hoping for $1 million (£590,000) from crowdfunding website Indiegogo to introduce the roads on a larger scale.

There’s no word yet on how much the solar-powered roads will cost, but the makers insist they’ll be able to generate revenue by selling electricity. And, if you’re tempted to steal a tile, they’ll be easily traceable.

“Even if someone were able to pull a panel out of the road and load it on a truck, the stolen panel would continue communicating with all of the other panels in the road. The road would know exactly where it was and how fast it was moving, making the criminal a sitting duck for law enforcement.”

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By Andrew Brady, Motoring Research