What if instead of cement and asphalt, roads were paved with solar panels? What if that sunlight could be harnessed for electricity? We might all have thought of this at least once while strolling out on a sunny afternoon that something should be done of the solar energy that flittered away into useless heat. I came across a video that went viral earlier this year with around 18 million views.

Solar Roadways, created by Julie and Scott Brusaw, is exploring the feasibility of building drivable roads using solar panels.The original intent was to help solve the climate crisis. The U.S. has over 72,000 square kilometers of asphalt and concrete surfaces exposed to the sun, if it would be covered with solar road panels, then it could produce over three times the amount of energy that they use as a nation that's using clean, renewable energy instead of coal.

According to Brusaw solar road panels could theoretically be laid anywhere from motorways and parking lots to pavements and playgrounds. He believes that such a prospect could transform the existing motorway infrastructure, prevent accidents and ultimately help save the planet from an environmental disaster.

"In the U.S., roughly half of greenhouse gases are generated by burning fossil fuels to create electricity," he says. "Another 25% comes out of our tailpipes," adds Brusaw. "By replacing coal with solar and making electric vehicles practical which could lead to the end of internal combustion engines we could theoretically cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75%.

Some calculations indicate that if we resurfaced all the roads in America with their solar panels, it would generate approximately three times the nation?s electric need. Additionally, this technology could also be used to pave bike paths, sidewalks, and parking lots.

The world?s first solar bike lane, the so called solar road is being built in Netherlands and it was opened to public last week. It is pilot project for a much larger vision of paving roads with similar solar cell slabs. It was a daunting task for engineers as needs not only to create particular design that allows as much sunlight as possible to hit the solar cells but should be safe and practical for cyclists.

Source:http://www.infrastructureusa.org/solar-paneled-roadways-future-infrastructure/