Solar roads, the way of the future 

With no doubt, we’re dependent on roads to the point where we wonder what life would be like without them. From driving to work to transporting items you’ve bought online, they cover approximately 0.2–0.5 percent of the world’s land surface with them. It’s projected to increase by 60 percent by 2050 just for transportation alone. With the advanced technologies of solar panels, can we use the roads as power generators as too? China is leading the way for the world’s solar panel highways and has the backing of government institutions and companies alike. This innovative effort will sandwich 2 km of solar panels between asphalt and a layer of insulation. This is just the latest attempt in a long line of solar energy experiments. This method uses a new transparent asphalt which builders claim can withstand up to 10 times more pressure than the normal asphalt variety. Although the idea sounds straightforward, creating solar roads is not a one-man nor one-country operation. For example, prototypes have been created in the Netherlands with a cycle lane while a project in France claims to be the first solar panel road. Although these projects have found success in generating power for years, there’s a huge price tag for sustainable energy. 

Cost of solar roads

The cost of replacing US roadways with solar roads would be in the trillians. With other needs and pressing demands our government pays for, I don’t know where installing solar roads would fall on the priority list. There’s a political agreement that the US needs infrastructure investment, yet this request for solar roadways may be a hard sell. 

Along with the cost, there’s a looming concern is if this is a viable solution to the energy crisis. Roads aren’t necessary built in the optimal place to put solar panels. In addition, roads can’t be at the ideal angle of elevation for solar panels. Keeping the roads functioning as roads while power generators harvest energy could be a challenging balancing act.

Let’s review the prototypes for instance. The prototype road in the Netherlands is said to be working better than expected by creating 70 kilowatt hours per square meter per year. At the same time, 70 kWh is not the biggest amount either. If you want to use the road to charge your car, 1 square meter gets you around 300 miles a year in an electric car. The average American drives 13,476 miles a year, so this is a drop in the bucket.
 

Solar power density 

There’s also a concern about power density. If we scale up the Netherlands prototype, it would have a power density of 8 W per meter squared. If $56 trillion is invested into solar roadways, you’d cover around 7.5 x 1010 m2 with panels, and generate 600 GW of electrical power. It’s not bad until you figure the total energy consumption is actually higher. An additional concern would be mining for prospects to fund solar roads. If more cost-effective solar and renewables already exist and hasn’t been scaled at this magnitude, how would investing into solar roads work? China’s solar roadway is symbolic of its commitment to cutting edge renewable energy solutions. Hopefully, one day after solution-processed solar panels become mandatory, the cost of solar roads may dramatically decrease, making this idea more realistic. It’s just a matter of time till we see the possibly creation of super solar highways. 

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.