Roadways are typically considered to be the place where cars consume energy. Now, engineers and inventors are thinking up ways to make "smart roads" (see photos below).
This above photo is of a 2.8-megawatt (MW) solar array constructed on the roof of a 2.7 km long noise-barrier tunnel on the A3 highway near Aschaffenburg, Germany. This was in conjunction with German Unity Motorway Planning and Construction Company. Photo source at www.ralos.de
Reported on the Dept. of Transportation website at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/real_estate/publications/alternative_uses_of_highway_right-of-way/rep03.cfm.
And here in the USA: the photo below is a protoype design for the Solar Roadways company based in Idaho. Here is renewable energy at it's finest.
According to Wikipedia, "Solar Roadways Inc is working to develop and commercially produced road panels which are made from recycled materials and incorporate photovoltaic cells." Not a bad idea...
(Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Roadways)
How road safety would be improved when the divider lines light up automatically to clearly illuminate your way.....
Imagine the snow control that would be possible with heat under a road melted by solar. What about crosswalks lighting up as you approach on a dark night? The ideas surrounding solar roadways just keep coming...
Above rendition by Solar Roadways - Graphic design by Sam Cornett
