Roads Configured To Exploit Solar Energy

[ramonmercado]

Road turned into a 'solar panel'

Heat absorbed by a road in Scotland is to be used to warm water for houses and even clear the road's surface of snow and ice in winter.
The process employed by Ullapool firm Invisible Heating Systems transforms Tarmac into a giant solar panel.

The Road Energy System has been installed in a road in Wester Ross.

The method of warming up water by piping it under roads, which naturally store up heat from the sun, was pioneered in Holland.

IHS saw the potential for using the system in Scotland after noting that sheep, which roam freely in many parts of the Highlands, often warm themselves by lying on a road.


We are delighted to be installing the first ever heating system of its kind here in Wester Ross
Liz Stewart of IHS

Environmental benefits include cutting CO2 emissions and lowering the amount of salt needed to keep roads ice-free in winter.

In summer, cold water can be pumped through the pipes to cool it and reduce the level of maintenance the road requires.

Henk Verweijmeren and Liz Stewart launched IHS in 1995 and started out by buying under-floor heating systems from Holland and then adapting them for use in UK homes.

They were awarded a £125,000 grant from Highlands and Islands Skye and Wester Ross to help with the construction of the Road Energy System.

IHS have helped to develop similar road systems in Holland.

Liz said: "We are delighted to be installing the first ever heating system of its kind here in Wester Ross."

Robert Muir, chief executive of HIE Skye and Wester Ross, praised IHS for creating 25 local jobs.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/u ... 098570.stm

Published: 2006/06/21 05:30:27 GMT

© BBC MMVI

 

[Degrizzzz]

now if we could just connect the rest of the road network up...Imagine how much heat and thus power you could get from a motorway in summer!

 

[Timble2]

now if we could just connect the rest of the road network up...Imagine how much heat and thus power you could get from a motorway in summer!

If it was the M25 or the M11, you'd get nothing, since the traffic jams would cut off all the sunlight.

 

[Degrizzzz]

I guess so
Ok, lets ban cars so we can get free power from the roads!!!

 

[EnolaGaia]

In settled (e.g., urban) areas a considerable portion of the land surface has been covered with roads. It's no surprise that some folks have wondered whether this large (and increasing) type of surface feature is well suited to capturing or otherwise exploiting solar energy.

World's First Solar Road Opens in Normandy, France
Dec. 22, 2016

France has just opened what it claims is the first public solar panel road in the world, officials said on Thursday.

The French Ministry of the Environment announced the inauguration of the “unprecedented” new road on Thursday, which is covered by solar panels and stretches for more than half mile in the town of Tourouvre-au-Perche in Normandy, France.

The road, called the Wattway, was officially opened Thursday by French Minister of Ecology Ségolène Royal and Mayor Guy Monhée, according to a statement from the environmental ministry.

The stretch of road is covered in photovoltaic panels, which transform solar energy into electricity.

“This new technology is unprecedented,” the ministry said in its statement. ...

French officials hope the road will generate enough electricity to power streetlights in the small town of about 3,400 residents.

SOURCE (With Additional Photos): https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/world-s-first-solar-road-opens-normandy-france-n699351

 

[EnolaGaia]

Unfortunately, the world's first solar-electric road is now the world's first solar-electric road failure ...

The World's First Solar Road Has Officially Crumbled Into a Total Failure
6 AUG 2019

In July, the French daily newspaper Le Monde reported that the 0.6-mile (1 kilometre) solar road was a fiasco.

In December 2016, when the trial road was unveiled, the French Ministry of the Environment called it "unprecedented". French officials said the road, made of photovoltaic panels, would generate electricity to power streetlights in Tourouvre, a local town.

But less than three years later, a report published by Global Construction Review says France's road dream may be over. Cracks have appeared, and in 2018, part of the road had to be demolished due to damage from wear and tear.

Even at its peak, the road was only producing half of the expected energy, because engineers didn't take into consideration rotting leaves falling on the road. ...

It was all smiles and high hopes in 2016, when the world's first solar panel road, called Wattway, opened. France spent US$5.2 million on 0.6 miles (1 kilometre) of road, and 30,000 square feet (3,000 square metres) of solar panels. It was hailed as the longest solar road in the world.

Media gathered around to take a walk down what was thought to be the road of the future. The French minister for energy said she wanted to have solar panels on one mile of road every 621 miles in the country within the next five years. ...

It was a bold move beginning a solar panel trial in Normandy, France, since the region doesn't have the most sunshine. Caen, a city in Normandy, only has 44 days of strong sunshine in a year. Thunderstorms also reportedly broke solar panels on the road.

The trial road was meant to produce about 150,000 kWh a year, which is enough power to provide light for up to 5,000 people, every day. Instead, it was making just under 80,000 in 2018, and fewer than 40,000 by July 2019.

Colas, the company that built the road, said in 2016 that the solar panels were covered with resin containing sheets of silicon to make them capable of withstanding all traffic. But since the opening, panels have come loose or broken into little pieces.

In May 2018, 300 feet (90 metres) of the road had to be demolished since it wasn't salvageable. ...

The engineers also didn't take into account the effects of leaves, which caused damage and limited the amount of electricity the panels could produce. They also didn't think about the pressure and weight from tractors, two locals told Le Monde.

And now the trial looks like it's all over. Wattway's managing director Etienne Gaudin told Le Monde that it would not be going to market.

"Our system is not mature on long distance traffic," he said. The company would focus on creating electricity for smaller things, like CCTV cameras and lighting bus shelters.

SOURCE: https://www.sciencealert.com/the-wo...-has-turned-out-to-be-a-disappointing-failure

 

[Mythopoeika]

As predicted, this is unworkable.