The Netherlands has officially opened the SolaRoad, the first-ever solar road, with an inaugural ride by Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp and North Holland Provincial Executive Elisabeth Post.
With a surface that acts as a solar panel, SolaRoad, located in an “enthusiastic and progressive community" in the province of Krommenie, generates electricity, which can then be used for road lighting and traffic systems, for example.
In the future, electric cars might be able to make use its energy.
12 November 2014: The Netherlands has officially opened the SolaRoad, the first-ever solar road, with an inaugural ride by Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp and North Holland Provincial Executive Elisabeth Post. With a surface that acts as a solar panel, SolaRoad, located in an “enthusiastic and progressive community” in the province of Krommenie, generates electricity, which can then be used for road lighting and traffic systems, for example. In the future, electric cars might be able to make use its energy.
In order to be safe, comfortable and sustainable, the SolaRoad cycle path has a strong and skid resistant surface, able to withstand everyday use from not only cyclists but service vehicles as well. The 100-metre test route consists of concrete modules measuring 2.5 by 3.5 meters. Along one of the lanes, solar cells have been embedded in the modules and covered with a layer of tempered glass. The other lane will be used to test different types of surfacing, in order to determine how much energy the cycle path can generate.
A group of thirty children, who tested the cycle path, said that it was really “cool to be able to bike along the world’s first-ever SolaRoad.”
When traffic jams occur, the resulting shadows will cause the energy yield to drop for just a short amount of time. However, the technology may be less suitable in some heavily-trafficked areas.
Preliminary test results indicate that 140 kWh of electricity was generated by SolaRoad’s first stretch. €3.5 million went into the five-year research and development process. The test route in Krommenie represents a small part of the larger objective to develop a marketable product. Next steps in developing and scaling up of SolaRoad include applications in smaller motorways and bus lines.
The idea for SolaRoad was born at TNO, a research and development organization focusing on innovations to increase energy supply and infrastructure sustainability in a sustainable and profitable manner. The Province of Noord-Holland, Ooms Civiel and Imtech joined together to develop project. [SolaRoad Press Release] [SolaRoad Facts][SolaRoad Video with Children Testing the Route] [Photos]