Solar Roads :Next generation Concept,on going charging are the major features

Solar Roadways

A solar roadway is the next concept of solar power collection. it uses the photovoltaics. it seems to replace current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with solar road panels that collect energy to be used by homes and businesses, and ultimately to be able to store excess energy in or alongside the solar roadways. 

The solar road has many advantages and features.it includes on going charging,digital signs etc.

Parking lots, driveways, and eventually highways are all targets for the panels. Theoretically, if the entire United States Interstate Highway system were surfaced with Solar Roadways panels, it could produce more than three times the amount of electricity currently used nationwide.

Advantages and disadvantages

Renewability and life-span

The main advantage of the solar roadway concept is that it utilizes a renewable source of energy to produce electricity. It has the potential to reduce dependence on conventional sources of energy such as coal, petroleum and other fossil fuels. Also, the life span of the solar panels is around 20 years, much greater than normal asphalt roads, which only last 7–12 years.

Military and rescue assistance

In the event of an environmental disaster or military emergency, solar roadways would provide power when it is needed most. As solar power is renewable, it obviously requires no external connection to an artificial power source.

Roadways already in place

Another advantage of solar roadways is that they do not require the development of unused and potentially environmentally sensitive lands. This is currently a very controversial issue with large photovoltaic installations in the Southwestern US and other places. But since the roads are already there, this is not an issue. Also, unlike large photovoltaic installations, new transmission corridors – perhaps across environmentally sensitive land – would not be required to bring power to consumers in urban areas. Transmission lines could simply be run along already established roadways.

On-the-go charging

With induction plating embedded inside these roads, electric cars can be recharged while in motion on top of these roads. This would reduce the costs and the time-inconvenience of waiting at a charging station.

Additional planned features

The parking lot will also warm itself in cold weather to melt away snow and ice. A layer of embedded LEDs will be used to create traffic warnings or crosswalks, and excess electricity could be used to charge electric vehicles or routed into the power grid. The electrical components will be embedded between layers of extremely durable, textured glass.

Phase I Prototype

The United States Department of Transportation awarded the company Solar Roadways Incorporated a $100,000 research contract in 2009. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract enabled Solar Roadways to prototype solar road panels.The concept has been used for lighting as well.

Phase II Prototype

After successful completion of the Phase I SBIR contract, Solar Roadways Inc. announced that the Federal Highway Administration awarded it a follow-up $750,000 Phase II SBIR contract to take it to the next step: a solar parking lot.The lot was finished in April of 2014.

Panel construction

Existing prototype panels consist of three layers.

1. Road surface layer - translucent and high-strength, it is rough enough to provide sufficient traction, yet still passes sunlight through to the solar collector cells embedded within, along with LEDs and a heating element. This layer needs to be capable of handling today's heaviest loads under the worst of conditions and to be weatherproof, to protect the electronics layer beneath it.
2. Electronics layer - Contains a microprocessor board with support circuitry for sensing loads on the surface and controlling a heating element with a view to reducing or eliminating snow and ice removal as well as school and business closings due to inclement weather. The microprocessor controls lighting, communications, monitoring, etc. With a communications device every 12 feet, a solar roadway can be an intelligent highway system.
3. Base plate layer - While the electronics layer collects energy from the sun, it is the base plate layer that distributes that power as well as data signals (phone, TV, internet, etc.) down the line to all homes and businesses connected to the solar roadway. It needs to be weatherproof to protect the electronics layer above it.

Cost

Installation costs of building such roadways and parking lots are initially expected to be substantially higher than conventional road surfaces. Maintenance costs will also be higher because road surfaces accumulate rubber, salt, soil and other substances that block sunlight and must be removed. The durability of the panels may also be less, further increasing maintenance costs. However, with the cost of Asphalt going up due to rising oil prices, the solar roadways panels may be on par with the costs of replacing the blacktop. In addition, the solar roadways system is designed to replace many other road features that are also cost drivers for road systems.