In Tourouvre-au-Perche, France 2,800m2 of road has been given the solar panel treatment. The cost was €5m in total. After the installation, estimates of its daily power yield fell short by nearly half.
Both tests proved that the cost of implementing solar roadways required a massive investment of capital. It also revealed that the solar roads in question delivered less than satisfactory results when it came to daily power yield.
Based on these tests, solar roads would take quite some time before they recouped the costs of installation.
Are solar roads a good idea?
The concept of solar roads is undoubtedly a good idea. Essentially traffic lights, hazard signs, and road sensors could sustain themselves, thus reducing energy costs and lessening our impact on the environment.
However, the actual implementation of solar roads has produced less than spectacular results thus far. With the expense of installing the solar panels, along with the numerous aforementioned disadvantages, solar roads may require quite a bit of tweaking before they become a viable option for mass use.
