The potential appeal of solar roads — modified solar panels that are installed in place of asphalt — is clear. Generating electricity from highways and streets, rather than in fields and deserts packed with solar panels, could conserve a lot of land. Those advantages are particularly important in a place like China, a heavily populated country where demand for energy has risen rapidly.
Because roads run through and around
cities, the electricity could be used practically next door to where it
is generated. That means virtually no power would be lost in
transmission, as can happen with projects in outlying locations. And the
land is essentially free, because roads are needed anyway. Roads must
be resurfaced every few years at great cost, so the installation of
durable solar panels could reduce the price of maintenance.
Solar
roads could also change the driving experience. Electric heating strips
can melt snow that falls on them. Light-emitting diodes embedded in the
surface can provide illuminated signage to direct drivers to exits and
alert them to construction and other traffic hazards.
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