The French Government plans to cover 1000 km of public roads with solar panels in a unique 5 year Renewable Energy plan by the country.
Many of us are accustomed to seeing solar panels in large power grids, open fields on or the rooftops of homes and offices. Places where they have uninhibited access to sunlight. However, can you imagine them being right under your feet?
That is what France plans on doing. According to the French Minister of Ecology and Energy, Ségolène Royal, France plans to cover 1000 km of roads with solar panels.
This is an unprecedented move by the nation to promote the shift to renewable energy from nonrenewable sources.
The Netherlands implemented a 70 m long solar bike path called SolaRoad a while ago. But that pales in comparison to this massive project spanning 1000 km. The French government intends to accomplish this grand endeavor in 5 years.
Route solaire Wattaway to Power Millions of Homes
A 1 km segment of this road, called Route solaire Wattaway, is projected to provide enough energy for a small town of 5000 people. Based on that figure, it is predicted that this project will help supply energy to 5 million people. That is roughly 8% of the nation’s population.
The streetlights and homes of French town dwellers will soon be illuminated by harnessing the sun’s energy.
This enterprise is a joint venture between Colas, a sustainable solutions and transport infrastructure company, and the National Institute of Solar Energy. Colas is the company behind the photovoltaic road surface Wattway.
Colas’ innovative technology does not require for any road renovations or infrastructure changes. The Wattway can be simply placed atop existing streets. The surface is a mere 7 mm thick and has photovoltaic cells arranged like tiles. These are in a polycrystalline silicon layer that is coated in a resin substrate, enhancing their strength and making them rainproof.
This makes the pavement very durable and provides perfect grip resistance for vehicle wheels. The Wattway pavement will provide clean, renewable electrical energy while handling all types of traffic.
According to Colas, a road is only covered 10% of the time by vehicles and other traffic. So a 20 m2 panel soaking up solar energy can provide enough electrical energy to power a single home in France.
Wattaway Passes Stringent Tests
Hervé Le Blouc, the CEO of Colas, has stated before that the Wattway has been subjected to a cycle of 1 million vehicles. That amounts to 20 years of normal traffic, and the surface did not move at all. It will have further reinforcing of its adhesive strength with the addition of asphalt.
The panels even passed the snowplow test, so they cannot be scraped off easily either. The road passed all lab tests with flying colors, and now awaits being applied on the streets. Colas envisions a future where all of France’s roads are covered by Wattaway. For now though, the company is content with the 1000 km trial.
Project Faces Skepticism
As wonderful as all this seems, there is some hesitation and skepticism by a few solar energy experts. Some are not convinced that solar roadways are the way to go.
“Solar energy is cost effective when it well set up and does not require it to be a structural element. When it does not displace economic assets, and there is electrical supply that it can supplement,” said photovoltaic researcher Andrew Thomson.
“These conditions are easily met by rooftop solar panels and solar farms in open fields, but not by roadways.”
Those points, albeit very valid, do not apply in this case. The solar road initiative by the French government has so many plus points. As mentioned earlier, the benefits make it a very viable and feasible renewable energy solution.
Consequently, if the Wattway is a successful endeavor, then the potential for clean power generation by using road infrastructure would be massive.
There are just under 1 million kilometers of roads in France. Converting even half of that as solar roads will significantly turn the tide to renewable energy.
What do you make of the French Government’s decision to lay solar panels on public roads? – Share your thoughts and let us know in the comments section below! We are waiting with bated breath for the results of this enterprise. We anticipate great things for Wattway, and France as a whole if it succeeds.
