Solar Roads Could Power the World

Here's a cool idea. What if somebody figured out a way to put photocells into highways so that when something isn't running over them, they would generate electricity? Well, somebody did exactly that. There's an electrical engineer by the name of Scott Brusaw, who, for the better part of the last decade, has been working on just such a project at his lab in northwestern Idaho. His idea is to cover all the roadways and parking lots in the US with photovoltaic panels to harvest the power of the sun. And he's got some help, because the idea caught the eye of the US Federal Highway Administration and they've given him and his wife, Julie, some funding to develop the idea called Solar Roadways.

Since they came up the idea some eight years ago, Scott and Julie have been able to create some really cool interlocking tempered glass hexagonal panels, which have been tested as part of a highway for impact, load and traction. Embedded in these panels are photovoltaic panels that harvest the power of the sun, making use of the wide expanses of road and parking lots, many of which can sit empty for long periods of time. These panels, the Brusaws say, can be hooked up to homes and businesses via driveways and parking lots. "A nationwide system could produce more clean renewable energy than a country uses as a whole," Scott writes. "They have many other features as well, including: heating elements to stay snow/ice free, LEDs to make road lines and signage, and attached Cable Corridor to store and treat stormwater and provide a 'home' for power and data cables."

This may sound like an unrealistically lofty goal, but the idea is being taken seriously. It has won awards and nominations from GE, the World Technology Award, Google and the IEEE Ace Awards, and Brusaw has spoken at TEDx, NASA, and Google's Solve for X. In fact, the project is about to enter Phase II testing, and is seeking funding on Indiegogo to produce enough solar panels to build a prototype parking lot -- following which the Brusaws plan to sell the product to individuals before taking it to the roads.

"We need to make a few tweaks to our product and streamline our manufacturing process so that we can make our panels available to the public as quickly as possible," Brusaw writes."With your help, we can move into manufacturing quickly and begin installing sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, playgrounds, patios, etc., and then when we feel we are ready, we'll begin to install roads and highways."

For more information about the project, go to the Solar Roadways campaign page of Indiegogo for more information and to pledge your support.