# Solar Roadway



## scept1c (May 10, 2005)

This is interesting!

France are planning to build a solar roadway.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/france-roll-out-futuristic-solar-roads-power-millions-homes-1541259


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Hammersmith flyover in west London was built with newly developed system of heating the road and keep it clear of snow and ice, this was way back in the 1960's.or was it late 1950's. Oh yes, never worked so they disconnected it I believe.Maybe the bodies in the foundations affected it.>>

cabby


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

The Mound in Edinburgh used to have under surface heating I believe

Cheers

Dave


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

This, as I understand it, is not heating. It is like the solar panels you have on the roof but laid out in the road. They would not, therefore, heat the surface they are laid upon.
I saw something about the technology a few years ago. Always thought it must come at some time. These panels could be installed in every car park in the country too. We could all have our driveways covered in them and all new roads could have them incorporated. I would have thought the hard shoulder of all the motorways would be a good place to start.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Now that is a sensible suggestion. perhaps we should write to our MP.s and demand this instead of the wind farms.

cabby


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

patp said:


> This, as I understand it, is not heating. It is like the solar panels you have on the roof but laid out in the road. They would not, therefore, heat the surface they are laid upon.
> I saw something about the technology a few years ago. Always thought it must come at some time. These panels could be installed in every car park in the country too. We could all have our driveways covered in them and all new roads could have them incorporated. I would have thought the hard shoulder of all the motorways would be a good place to start.


I guess the main stumbling block in this country would be their efficiency, given our northern latitude. Even when it is sunny, the fact that they would be flat on the ground would reduce their output compared to existing solar farms where the panels are angled to the sun. Installing them in southern France would give much greater benefits in terms of output.

I'm not against solar power but I guess all these things have to be based on the returns compared to the investment involved which presumably is why tidal power is slow to take off.


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

this idea has been around for a few years now and there are a few experimental solar roads elsewhere, but the French are taking this to a new level.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

I find it hard to believe that a solar panel of any sort could be robust enough to stand up to HGVs pounding across it continually. I wonder what the projected lifespan is?
Other than that and the question of whether they could generate enough power to be viable in the UK climate it would seem an obvious answer to a lot of problems.


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

I suggest you do some Googling about solar roadways - the technology is certainly robust as various trials have shown. but because of the construction they are not as efficient as roof top panels but are still pretty good. some of the best areas for use could be urban bike trails, car parks, pedestrian areas etc where heavy loads aren't as numerous.


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## lgbzone (Oct 8, 2008)

I read an article a year or two ago where they were experimenting with a substrate under road surfaces that would generate electricity from the vibration/energy of vehicles traveling on that road, sounded interesting as it wasn't dependent on anything except vehicles moving on the road, probably wouldn't be much use on the M25 then ;-)


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

How would they work in car parks? Would we all have to have transparent cars?


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