France to pave 1000km of roads with solar panels

Feb 12, 2016

The French government wants to pave 1,000 Km (621 miles) of road with solar panels over the next five years. French infrastructure company Colas will start trial in spring. They have developed photovoltaic road surface, also known as Wattway to be used in the trials. It will be a 1 km long section of the road that will power public street lighting for a small town.

Once the project is completed, the new roads will be able to supply electricity to 5 million people in France. "Wattway" is a unique design and it’s very sturdy that can easily let heavy vehicles pass over it, also offers a good grip to avoid an accident. The technology is innovative and doesn’t require ripping out the existing road infrastructure. The solar panels are made of cells inserted, in enclosed layers, inside a thin film of polysilicon which can be laid down directly on the pavement.

The silicon cells are also weather-proof, as they are covered completely to keep them dry during the rainy season, and the panel material can adapt to thermal expansion in the pavement. Though many solar experts are skeptical of this project, the French government has given the go-ahead to this venture.

Source:http://www.treehugger.com/solar-technology/france-pave-1000km-roads-solar-panels.html