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Behold, the World’s First Solar Bike Path Is Here

The whole “electric vehicles are cooler than petrol-fueled ones” story is no big news, as environmentalists all over the world are making the message clear: less CO2 means a better life. Problem is, however, the electric energy they run on is mostly still made out of fossils. So what do we do? We make solar panel roads. And the world’s first is about to be finished in The Netherlands and it’s a 100-meter cycle path. Getting the “Back in the future” feeling?
The SolaRoad 1 photo
Photo: www.spiegel.de
Now, we normally assume you never skip any of our brilliant articles (ha ha ha), but just in case your cat died and you did, we’ll take the time to offer you a little heads-up here. Remember Scott and Julie Brusaw, those two engineers who put together two functional prototypes of what could become the next generation roads? In their vision, all asphalt surfaces should be replaced with individual hexagonal solar panel cells, interconnected to also communicate between them.

Right. This piece you’re reading is obviously not about that (obviously...)

The SolaRoad was faster

It turns out, there are other people on this planet that were one step ahead of the two otherwise brilliant scientists. Called the “SolaRoad”, the construction work takes place from 6 to 24th October and will officially open on November 12th. The pilot initiative is located in the city of Krommenie, 25 kilometers (15 mi) outside Amsterdam, and follows years of research and development, testing and feasibility studies.

The cycle path’s surface includes integrated solar cells, so cyclists can use it while solar energy is being generated. The energy will then be used for street lighting, traffic lights or even charging electric cars. It’s a 100-meter (328 feet) cycle path made out of concrete elements measuring 1.5 by 2.5 meters (5 by 8 feet), with a rough glass layer on top.

The Netherlands has big plans with it

The solar cells are located between the concrete and the glass and an extra optical layer between the glass and the solar cells enhances the sunlight. It also has a special treated top layer that prevents cyclists from either slipping or being blinded by the sunlight.

Run by a consortium made up of the Province of Noord-Holland, road construction company Ooms Civiel and technical service provide Imtech, SolaRoad starts off as an experiment. Through this first phase scientists are testing whether the yield covers the costs of maintenance and also if the high-tech road remains strong enough over the long term.

Dutch officials claim airports and car parks may also be used as sources of energy in the future. Meanwhile, feel free to check out the video below for more information.

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