Solar Roadways Gets More Funding – Keeps on Designing Our Future Transport Network

I've reported on these fine folks efforts before, and it seems as if they are still alive and kicking.  The company, Solar Roadways, are developing…well… solar roadways. The idea is:

The panels, designed by Solar Roadways founder Scott Brusaw, contain embedded LED lights that might eventually act as a “smart” system that illuminates lanes while displaying timely warnings to drivers about roadblocks and wildlife up ahead. At the same time, embedded heating elements in the panels could prevent snow and ice from building up on the road.

Further to that, and more importantly, the panels are constantly producing clean solar energy and feeding it directly back into the grid. Or, in the ideal scenario – the roads ARE the grid. Deep, huh? The concept is still in early development, though they do have working prototypes. The team has just received a boost from the US Federal Government to the tune of $750k, which will no doubt see them continuing their efforts for a while longer. The primary issue to overcome is of course cost. The panels are currently prohibitively expensive – which no doubt causes many skeptics to pass off this idea as fanciful. But, like with any epic infrastructure project, the more you build the cheaper it would get.

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