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26 : 01 : 17

Wattway – the World’s First Solar Panel Road

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The world’s first Solar Panel Road has opened in the small French town, Tourouvre-au-Perche.

 

 

The world’s first Solar Panel Road has opened in the small French town, Tourouvre-au-Perche. Stretching for 1km the 2,800sqm of solar panels will generate enough energy to power the street lights.

Over a two year test period the road will be monitored to see if it generates enough energy to power all of the street lighting in the village, with its 3,400 residents. The road is expected to be used by approximately 2,000 motorists a day and cost 5m euros to construct.

While critics of the road say that it is not good use of public money, the French ecology minister, Ségolène Royal has said she would like to see 1km in every 1,000km laid with the solar road panels. The company who installed the road currently has 100 similar projects for solar-panel roads, half in France and half abroad.

One of the efficiency factors negating the benefits of the solar panel road, is that panels are less efficient when lying flat compared to when they are angled towards the sun, such as on a structure like a roof. However overall it is generally agreed that is a technical advance in renewable energy production, even if the cost benefit equation does not add up.

Each panel is covered with a resin containing fine sheets of silicon, making them extremely tough and able to withstand the rigors of traffic, including the heavy load trucks. As the cost of solar panels continues to drop it is expected that solar-panel roads will become most cost effective.

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