Solar Panel Roads

[sherlew99]

This Parking Lot Is Paved With Solar Panels
BY KEITH BARRY 05.08.14 | 6:30 AM | PERMALINK

The Idaho couple who created an innovative road surface made of solar panels is back with a prototype, and they’re looking to Indiegogo for additional funding.

Scott and Julie Brusaw want to replace traditional asphalt and concrete with impact-resistant solar panels that do double duty as a road surface and an energy source. When the solar roadway concept debuted in 2010, it caught the interest of futurists and government officials. Now the Brusaws have a working prototype covering a 12- by 36-foot parking lot outside the couple’s electronics lab in Idaho.

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[sherlew99]

I don't know if this would be widely used or not. My main concern is that it needs to be secure enough that no one can hack it. I would like to see power lines under the road, covered by electromagnetic shielding.

It would be neat to at least have this panels in public parks and tourist attractions. If it's made the way I think it will, this type of solar road could communicate with with vehicle traffic and warn of detours and obstacles, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists ahead.

Someone made a video on how this may work (in a perfect world) and it has it's own Facebook page.