Solar Roadways Creating Solar Paneled Roads: Is it In Our Future?

via Solar Roadways

Can you imagine the energy harnessing potential we would have if the roads we drove on every day were solar paneled?

Think about the heat that hits the roads everyday. In the not so far past, you may have even seen the heat rising from the roads on a hot hot day. This may give you an idea of how much the sun's heat hits the road. It seems like such a waste to do nothing with this potential energy.

What if someone could build a road that would harness that energy? What if someone could build a solar paneled road that could harness that energy and then that energy could be used to power homes, hospitals, schools, offices, etc? It sounds crazy, right! It is so easy to think about all the things that would make this impossible. For example, the cost of it would be ridiculous. How would the sun reach the panels with all the dirt, trash and congest the roads have today? Wouldn't the roads lack traction? How soon would the roads crack and fall under pressure? How much would it take and cost to keep these solar paneled roads maintained.

For a minute, just for a minute, putting all those worries aside, thinking positive, if this could be done safely and if it worked successfully, how would this change and improve our lives? Could solar paneled roadways seriously reduce are carbon footprint significantly? Would the money saved in the long run due to this new source of energy make up for the initial cost of making a solar paneled road? Would everyone's electric bill go down?

There are many questions and a lot to think about. Luckily, Solar Roadways will be taking the time to find these answers for us. In fact, Solar Roadways has been given the financial go-ahead, a $100,000 grant by the Department of Transportation to be exact, to build a prototype of a road made up of solar panels.

Like most new technology projects this project has taken on a lot of criticism. I can definitely understand why. There is a lot to be considered, including people's safety and of course finance when creating a solar paneled road, but personally I hope Solar Roadways can pull it off (grant it is safe, cuts down our carbon foot print and saves us money in the long run). Still Solar Roadways has a lot to think about, test, and prove before this idea can ever hit the real roads. Don't you think?

For more information and before making a judgment call on this project visit the Solar Roadways website here.

Via World is Green and Solar Roadways