[VIDEO] Move Over Roofs, Solar-Powered Roads Are The Next Big Thing

That’s what Scott and Julie Brusaw hope to accomplish with their ongoing Solar Roadways project, which they just funded through a hugely popular crowdfunding campaign.

The husband-and-wife team has spent the better part of the last decade developing solar-powered modular panels that could be installed in roadways and parking lots, and would be able to collect power from the sun. Those panels could also keep streets clear of snow and ice, while illuminating them with LEDs.

techcrunch.com

The pair set up the company after working on the idea of embedding solar-powered lights and heating elements into the road surface to improve safety at night or in icy conditions. Having developed suitably rugged solar cells, they looked into how they might use them to generating electricity for the national grid – or to power the cars running over them.

discovery.com

In 2009 the couple received the backing of the US Federal Highway Administration, and they began testing their ideas with a team of researchers. In 2011, they were awarded a follow-up contract to build a solar-powered parking lot that could be tested in real-world weather conditions.

theweek.co.uk

Instead of asphalt or concrete, the surface of a solar road would consist of panels coated in super-strong, high-grip glass. They incorporate the heating element from the original prototype to keep them free from ice.

Underneath the glass sits a bank of solar cells which feed electricity into a “cable corridor” alongside the road. According to the Solar Roadways website, the new road “would pay for itself over time” by selling electricity to the grid.

A substantial amount, according to the creators. "We learned that the US had over 72,000 square kilometers of asphalt and concrete surfaces exposed to the sun,” Scott Brusaw told CNN. “If we could cover them with our solar road panels, then we could produce over three times the amount of energy that we use as a country."

Production will begin once the project reaches its funding goal of $1m, for which the company has set a target date of May 31. The campaign has so far raised $100,000. Solar road surfaces are likely to make their first appearances in car parks and driveways before being rolled out onto the road network.

theweek.co.uk

And given the amount of highway and road infrastructure in the U.S., it would no doubt be crazy expensive to deploy in any massive scale. But the whole thing is crazy and cool enough that it just might work.

techcrunch.com