France will build a 1,000-kilometer road from solar panels

    image

    Marie-Segolene Royal , Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy of France, spoke about the government’s plans to build a solar-paved road in the next five years. Tenders for a thousand-kilometer canvas have already been placed, and the selection of candidates will begin this April. According to the calculations of power engineers, the energy collected from a kilometer of such a road should be enough for the needs of 5,000 people (excluding heating).

    Thousands of kilometers of panels should be enough for the needs of 5 million people, or 8% of the current population of the country. To turn the roadway into solar panels, strips with photocells of 7 mm thickness will be attached to the carriageway.

    The technology for creating such solar cells was developed at Colas Group, a division of the Bouygues industrial group. The company took five years to create the panels, called Wattway.

    Wattway cells contain a thin film of polycrystalline silicon. They are resistant to heavy loads, and must even withstand passing trucks, while, according to the manufacturer, they have a sufficient coefficient of friction so as not to create problems for transport.

    The project is proposed to be financed by raising taxes on gasoline, which, according to the Minister of Ecology, will be a natural measure in connection with the reduction in the cost of oil.

    In 2014, one of the first roads opened in the Netherlands - however, it is designed only for bicycles. IN USAa married couple is trying to launch a project to create similar roads for cars using public funding.

    Bouygues is a French industrial group owned by billionaire brothers Martin and Oliver Bouygues , who inherited it from their father. Martin is a close friend of Nicolas Sarkozy, and the godfather of his son.

    Also popular now: