Solar-powered roads: Melt snow, generate electricity

William Atkins
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 23:49

Science - Energy

Scott Brusaw is an American electrical engineer but he is also an inventor with an idea on how to keep roads clear of snow in the winter and how to generate electricity for (electric-powered) cars, buildings, homes, and all sorts of other applications. The main foundation for this road is glass!

Brusaw says on his website (SolarRoadways.com), 'Suppose we made a section of road out of this material [super-strong glass] and housed solar cells to collect energy, which could pay for the cost of the panel, thereby creating a road that would pay for itself over time.'

And, 'What if we added LEDs to "paint" the road lines from beneath, lighting up the road for safer night time driving? What if we added a heating element in the surface (like the defrosting wire in the rear window of our cars) to prevent snow/ice accumulation in northern climates?'

Light emitting diodes (LEDS) would light up, replacing paint for lanes stripes, warning signs ("slow", "danger ahead", "stop"), and other such uses.

And, lights along the road could be powered by the electricity generated by the Sun from these solar cells embedded in the road.

There's more that Brusaw states, 'The ideas and possibilities just continued to roll in and the Solar Roadway project was born.'

Just imagine the possibilities of using such materials for parking lots, driveways, etc. The the main ingredient of this road is glass. Impossible? No! Please read on.

Solar Roadways is a project created by Scott Brusaw in the little town of Sagle, Idaho, where he lives and works as an electrical engineer.

Page two describes the three layers of the Solar-powered Roadway.