Writer: Sing 

Nowadays, generating solar power can be in ways that are unexpected, and this time around, scientists have utilised the roadways to supply energy for street lights, melt snow and even eliminate the need to paint different colors of lines on the asphalt.

One of the world’s first solar panel roadways to open to the public is in Shandong, China back in 2017. Shandong used the 2-kilometer long carriageway to turn sun rays into electricity and transfer it into the power grid, which generated around 1 million kilowatt-hours per year. In general, solar roads consist of 3 layers - the top is covered with a double-layered laminated glass so sun rays can go through. A second layer where solar panels, also known as solar photovoltaic cells, lay to gather solar power, and a bottom layer distributes this collected power. The top layer can withstand the weight of a 150,000 Lb vehicle, which is four times the weight of a semi-truck. Unlike traditional solar panels, solar roads drive to be more creative and eco-friendly towards their surroundings. This technology became a vital aid during winter or rainy days as they constantly heat the road to melt the snow above, remove excessive wet and cold areas, and ensure roads are passable. The same method can also remotely charge electric cars that drive through them.

A few years later, in 2018, Tokyo of Japan took the initiative to introduce the new technology ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Instead of being covered with laminated glass, this time, its surface was covered with a special resin to enhance durability, with the solar cells fitted beneath. According to Solar Roadways, a major manufacturer of solar roads based in the US, Solar Roads could produce over 14.5 Trillion Kilowatt Hours of electricity per year. The manager of a Japan Seven-Eleven store, which is in one of the chosen pilot areas to launch solar roads, said the system helps the store cover 9% of their electricity bill.

However, the production of these solar panels is not cheap, especially when they are meant to support countless moving vehicles day by day. As a blog has pointed out, there needs to be a good amount of money poured into the project to start, albeit the required expertise in various fields and the technology and production cost required to fit so many layers under a roadway. This point had seemingly proved itself when a total cost of 5 million euros was spent to build a 1 Km solar road in France. Hence the viability of solar roads remains a key issue for countries before putting forward the plan. Nevertheless, the capabilities of these solar roadways are a lot more than what is mentioned above. To name a few, they are low-cost to maintain since they are configured to be easy and inexpensive to repair, with only the damaged blocks needed to be removed and replaced. To date, this technology can be found on public roads and residential streets, driveways, and parking lots, proving its various possibilities to apply to different road surfaces.

Sources:
https://www.sunwaypv.com
https://www.ndtv.com
https://www.forbes.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYPzB1g5_5E&ab_channel=CGTN
https://science.howstuffworks.com
https://www.azocleantech.com

Image Source:
https://www.independent.co.uk