The first aptly-titled SolaRoad made its debut last November in the Netherlands, not far from Amsterdam. The road itself is a unique foray in pollution-free solar energy. Nearly one year later, the SolaRoad’s designers say the high-tech bike path is performing better than they expected.
In the first six months since it was installed, the SolaRoad has generated over 3,000 kilowatt-hours — or roughly the equivalent required for a single-person household for one calendar year.
The first aptly-titled SolaRoad made its debut last November in the Netherlands, not far from Amsterdam. The road itself is a unique foray in pollution-free solar energy. Nearly one year later, the SolaRoad’s designers say the high-tech bike path is performing better than they expected.
In the first six months since it was installed, the SolaRoad has generated over 3,000 kilowatt-hours — or roughly the equivalent required for a single-person household for one calendar year.
Experts reckon that up to 20 percent of the Netherlands’ roadways —140,000 kilometers or 87,000 miles — could accommodate the solar threading for a wider reach on a limitless solar draw.
How it works
The SolaRoad is a unique platform just 70 meters long — for now — that consists of several synthetic layers topped by 3-millimeter, glass-covered solar panels engineered to convert sunrays into energy — even on a perfectly cloudy day. Each transparent panel links into a network that optimizes absorbed solar radiation and redirects it into the local energy grid — to power street lamps, for example.
Continue reading at ENN affiliate, Triple Pundit.
Road image via Shutterstock.
