Solar Panel Roads Get $1 Million in Funding
by Geo Beats
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A project to cover roads with solar energy panels has received over one million dollars in donations on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo. The couple from Idaho who started the company Solar Roadways plan to use the money to bring engineers onboard to help them take their concept from prototype to large-scale implementation.
A project to replace asphalt roads with solar energy panels has received over one million dollars in donations on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.
The couple from Idaho who started the company Solar Roadways plan to use the money to bring engineers onboard to help them take their concept from prototype to large-scale implementation.
They have already gotten some funding from the Federal Highway Administration, and have built a small parking lot of the solar panels that can reportedly withstand the weight of a 250 thousand pound truck.
The company claims if all the asphalt roads in the United States were replaced with solar panels, it would create three times more electricity than the country currently uses.
Along with creating usable energy, the Solar Roadway’s design would conceivably filter storm water, replace power cables, melt snow, and light up to warn drivers when an animal is on the road.
The price is reportedly so high, that some skeptics say there are other viable solar energy technologies that deserve more funding and attention then Solar Roadways street panels, which are estimated to cost 50 percent more than traditional asphalt roads.
According to the Indiegogo website, Solar Roadways already has customers lined up once they are able to streamline the production process.
A project to replace asphalt roads with solar energy panels has received over one million dollars in donations on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.
The couple from Idaho who started the company Solar Roadways plan to use the money to bring engineers onboard to help them take their concept from prototype to large-scale implementation.
They have already gotten some funding from the Federal Highway Administration, and have built a small parking lot of the solar panels that can reportedly withstand the weight of a 250 thousand pound truck.
The company claims if all the asphalt roads in the United States were replaced with solar panels, it would create three times more electricity than the country currently uses.
Along with creating usable energy, the Solar Roadway’s design would conceivably filter storm water, replace power cables, melt snow, and light up to warn drivers when an animal is on the road.
The price is reportedly so high, that some skeptics say there are other viable solar energy technologies that deserve more funding and attention then Solar Roadways street panels, which are estimated to cost 50 percent more than traditional asphalt roads.
According to the Indiegogo website, Solar Roadways already has customers lined up once they are able to streamline the production process.