[political]

France has opened what it claims to be the world’s first solar panel road, in a Normandy village.

France-Solar-Panel-Road.jpg (53.02 KiB) Viewed 3189 times

A 1km (0.6-mile) route in the small village of Tourouvre-au-Perche covered with 2,800 sq m of electricity-generating panels, was inaugurated on Thursday by the ecology minister, Ségolène Royal.

It cost €5m (£4.2m) to construct and will be used by about 2,000 motorists a day during a two-year test period to establish if it can generate enough energy to power street lighting in the village of 3,400 residents.

In 2014, a solar-powered cycle path opened in Krommenie in the Netherlands and, despite teething problems, has generated 3,000kWh of energy – enough to power an average family home for a year. The cost of building the cycle path, however, could have paid for 520,000kWh.

Before the solar-powered road – called Wattway – was opened on the RD5 road, the panels were tested at four car parks across France. The constructor was Colas, part of giant telecoms group Bouygues, and financed by the state.

Normandy is not known for its surfeit of sunshine: Caen, the region’s political capital, enjoys just 44 days of strong sunshine a year compared with 170 in Marseilles.

Royal has said she would like to see solar panels installed on one in every 1,000km of French highway – France has a total of 1m km of roads – but panels laid on flat surfaces have been found to be less efficient than those installed on sloping areas such as roofs.

Critics say it is not a cost-effective use of public money. Marc Jedliczka, vice-president of Network for Energetic Transition (CLER) told Le Monde: “It’s without doubt a technical advance, but in order to develop renewables there are other priorities than a gadget of which we are more certain that it’s very expensive than the fact it works.”

Jean-Louis Bal, president of renewable energy union SER, said: “We have to look at the cost, the production [of electricity] and its lifespan. For now I don’t have the answers.”

Colas said the panels have been covered with a resin containing fine sheets of silicon, making them tough enough to withstand all traffic, including HGVs. The company says it hopes to reduce the costs of producing the solar panels and has about 100 other projects for solar-panelled roads – half in France and half abroad.

The Guardian

[Godstud]

but panels laid on flat surfaces have been found to be less efficient than those installed on sloping areas such as roofs.

Also, as panels get dirty they become far less efficient. These panels probably won't last very long, due to wear and tear, either. I see better places to place solar panels, like in parking lots, on top of stadiums, etc.

Still... interesting.

[One Degree]

First impression, "only a friggin' idiot would endorse such a concept" Putting solar panels on a surface most likely to be obscured from sunlight?

[Pants-of-dog]

This gadget would work best in equatorial countries.

[Potemkin]

More middle-class 'Green' wankery....

[Kaiserschmarrn]

In 2014, a solar-powered cycle path opened in Krommenie in the Netherlands and, despite teething problems, has generated 3,000kWh of energy – enough to power an average family home for a year. The cost of building the cycle path, however, could have paid for 520,000kWh.

Excellent. Only 170 years to break even.

[noemon]

Someone is probably getting re-elected though and there is the possibility that this village/town might be placed on the tourist map because of this peculiarity.

[Godstud]

Given the cost of solar panels, and the life span of solar panels, I think this is a rather foolish endeavor. Panels don't do well getting driven over and worn constantly, Their effectiveness would diminish rapidly with wear and tear. They wouldn't live up to their 20 year lifespan. Not even close.

Yes. This sounds like a gimick to make people think greener. A marketing ploy of some kind.

[Boggart]

....and the braking distance on these is???

[Pants-of-dog]

Helicopter landing pads. Especially in equatorial countries. That's where I would use these

[One Degree]

Too bad globalization is dying. We could all have been required to wear a square meter solar panel as a hat.
At the present birth rate, the world could be totally covered in solar panels in no time.