Solaroad

The impetus for the creation of such an object was the idea that solar panels made in the form of a road would have a noticeably larger area than similar batteries installed on the roof of the house, while the visual impact on the landscape would be almost invisible. For example, the area of ​​roads in the Netherlands is approximately twice as large as the roof area of ​​all houses in the country ^[3] . The length of this track is 72 meters. The electricity generated by it can be used for street lighting, recharging electric vehicles and other needs ^[1] . The surface of the track is a prefabricated panel measuring 2.5 by 3.5 meters and one centimeter thick, made of tempered glass, under which the actual solar panels are located. The track withstands a 12-ton truck ^[4] . Immediately next to the “solar” cycle path, the usual one was designed for testing different types of surfaces ^[2] .

The performers of the work were the , and Ooms Civiel ^[3] . Money for the construction of 1.5 million euros allocated the province of North Holland , which became the owner of the facility. The total cost of the project amounted to 3.5 million euros, the missing amount was added by the above organizations and the government ^[5] .

Identified Issues ^{[6] [7]}

• Panel contamination with dirt, snow, etc.
• Panels cannot change the angle to accumulate as much light as possible, as is done on roofs.
• The shadow of passing cyclists reduces the amount of light falling on the track.
• The cost of ground-based solar panels came out 3-4 times more expensive than similar ones installed on roofs, thus, the payback of this project will exceed 50 years, although it was originally said about 10 years ^[8] .
• Given that one square meter of this track cost about $ 1,200 and energy production is 70 kW m ² / year ^{[4] [5]} , the cost of one kilowatt is 86 cents. For comparison: “ordinary” electricity in the country costs 5 cents per kilowatt.
• The track is far from ideal: the environmentalists are worried about the reinforced concrete slabs and epoxy in its construction, which will be in direct contact with the ground for a long time.

The project has been developed since 2009 ^[1] . The opening of the facility took place on October 21, 2014, on November 12 of the same year, the re-opening ceremony of the Minister of Economics, Agriculture and Innovation ^{[9] took place} . From December 26, 2014 to January 8, 2015 ^{[9] [10]} and in October 2015, the track was closed due to repair: in some areas the glass layer was deformed and damaged.
During the first month of operation, Solaroad generated an amount of energy sufficient for the life of one family ^[10] .
After a six-month “trial period”, engineers reported that “the results are better than expected” ^[4] - in six months each square meter of the track generated 35 kW of electricity. During this time, about 150 thousand cyclists rode the track ^[11] .
Australian video blogger engineer conducted a study by examining Solaroad's electricity production for six months and a year with conventional solar panels located on nearby rooftops. He came to the conclusion that traditional solar panels are twice as efficient as the new bike path ^{[12] [13]} .
Currently, the possibility of driving electric vehicles on this type of road without recharging is being considered; the possibility of building full-fledged roads from solar panels ^[14] , for example, in France ^[15] .

• Smart highway
• SolarCity

•   Wikimedia Commons has Solaroad related media
• Official site of the project (nid.) (English)