Solar Roadways, an Idaho (US)-based company, has announced the possibility of using solar panels instead of asphalt in road building. The company has received funding from the Federal Highway Admin & is continuing its research into creating weight resistant PV solar panels able to bear road traffic. The company estimates that 100,000 sq/kilometers of open area in the form of highways, road surfaces & open vehicle parking lots are potentially available for the use of solar panels & power generation. The company is currently designing square solar panels of 3.7 x 3.7m size that will exactly fit the width of normal US road lanes & allow the movement of vehicles over it. The company estimates that with an average solar power availability of 4h/day & with 15% energy efficiency each such panel could produce an energy equivalent of 7.6 kWh. To overcome the problem of heavy vehicles running over the panels the company intends to use the same techniques as employed for making bullet-proof glass. To prevent the problem of skidding on the glass surface the company suggests the use of small sized prism-like structures to provide grip.
