Scott and Julie Brasou from Aidaho are about to use the sidewalk as the creator of alternative energy. Their idea includes using solar panels as a coating for roads instead of traditional asphalt or concrete. These solar roads will be able to produce energy that meets most of the US needs, including reducing the number of coal power plants.
A couple of entrepreneurs are not the only people who see the potential of roads in creating an alternative energy source. Volvo, in cooperation with the Swedish transport association, is already working on the project to turn the roadway in the city of Gothenborg into a charger for electric buses. This concept can someday solve the problem of anxiety of people who do not buy electric vehicles due to the limited capabilities of modern batteries.
A few years ago, when anxiety about global warming began to gain popularity, cattle and Julie Brasou began work to create a road surface with solar panels. The creation of a practical solution for this project was not easy. This is not the way as if it were simply possible to remove the solar battery from the roof and install it instead of the sidewalk. As a result, the cattle of Bratsou, who is a professional electrical engineer, came up with a hexagonal block, which holds a solar battery protected by a thick glass cover. He added LEDs to disappear the need for marking or messages on the carriageway. For a cold climate, Scott proposed the installation of small heating elements.
You can lay the Scott device as paving slabs. Its road surface or sunny road, as he calls it, is strong enough to withstand a heavy truck. According to Bratsow, coating US roads using such panels can remove the need for generators working on fossil fuel.
In fairness, it is worth noting that the transition to such roads will not be cheap. According to Scott himself, the cost of covering the road with its panels will cost more than laying a traditional asphalt road by 50-300%. In addition, it is not yet clear how the material withstands long stays in a cold climate, snow -pipe, accidents and other problems.
The idea of Brasou has its skeptics and their supporters. Julie and Scott received several grants for development, including one grant of $ 750,000 in 2011. On the website of Indigo, the Bratsou family also collects money. On this resource, more than one and a half million dollars have been invested in them (these are donations for a project of more than 38,000 people).
Brasou see in their project a resource for the production of electricity, but there are people who are more consideration of this idea as charging for vehicles. Indeed, solar roads can be a serious breakthrough in this direction.
You can find out the details about the project on the site – SolaroadWays