Culture
Coming Soon to France: Hundreds of Miles of Solar-Powered Roads
Thin panels installed on existing roads could be used to power streetlights and homes within five years.
Sooner or later the lamps glowing softly over the Champs-Élysées could be powered by the road itself.
France plans to install 1,000 kilometers of solar panel roadways in the next five years, Global Construction Review reports. That’s an ambitious goal, but not at all out of reach, because the technology is ready to go: the 7-millimeter-thick photovoltaic panel called Wattway, produced by French transportation infrastructure firm Colas. These panels can glue onto existing road surfaces to draw power from the sun, while providing enough grip for cars and trucks to drive over them. Colas says one kilometer is enough to power public lighting for a city of 5,000 people and 20 square meters of Wattway can power a single French home.