Solar Roadways for a Sustainable Future

The Solar Roadways project is working to pave roads with solar panels that you can drive on.

The Vision

Our long range goal is to cover all concrete and asphalt surfaces that are exposed to the sun with Solar Road Panels. This will lead to the end of our dependency on fossil fuels of any kind.

We’re aware that this won’t happen overnight. We’ll need to start off small: driveways, bike paths, patios, sidewalks, parking lots, playgrounds, etc. This is where we’ll learn our lessons and perfect our system. Once the lessons have been learned and the bugs have all ben resolved, we’ll plan to move out onto public roads.

Imagine one major fast-food chain retrofitting their parking lots across the nation: an all-electric vehicle (EV) could now recharge in those parking lots when needed. This removes the range limitation for EVs (eliminating their need to be recharged at home every night) and makes them far more practical. People would be more likely to trade in their internal-combustion engine vehicles for all-electric vehicles.

Other businesses would see the advantage of retrofitting their parking lots: they could either go off-grid or put a huge dent in their monthly electric bill. They would also attract more customers, who would eat or shop in their stores as their EVs recharged in their parking lots. As more businesses jump on board, the EVs become more and more practical.

With businesses going solar (rather than using electricity created by burning fossil fuels) and more drivers opting for EVs (over gas/diesel engines), the beginning of the end of fossil fuel dependency would finally be at hand.

After the Solar Roadways technology is proven in parking lots, then the next logical step would be residential roads, where speeds are slower than highways and trucks are not as common.

The final goal should be the nation’s highways. We’re already investigating using mutual inductance to charge EVs traveling over the Solar Road Panels. While it may not (although we don’t know this yet) provide enough electricity to completely charge the EV in motion, it would certainly extend its range.

Source: Solar Roadways

This really is ‘thinking outside the box’. Instead of having a negative impact on the environment, roads would start playing a positive role in the quest to remove our dependence on fossil fuels.  Solar power is one of the fastest growing renewable energy sources and is ideal for sunny South Africa.  Unlike some other renewable energy, solar energy is available to the average person (with relatively inexpensive initial costs and domestic solar systems typically amortize their cost within 3-4 years).  Water Rhapsody has teamed up with Yes Solar to provide individuals and businesses with Eskom-approved solar panels, solar geysers and solar water heating solutions.  All our solar products are guaranteed and are installed by Eskom-accredited solar technicians (all our solar products are eligible for Eskom renewable energy rebates).  Becoming energy self-sufficient via solar is now a reality for South Africans homeowners  In the near future, excess energy generated from your rooftop will be directed back into the main power grid which could earn you money.  I think in the not-too-distant future, roof area will be rented out for solar power generation.  Water self-sufficiency for homeowners is also a reality; contact us for a free quote for rainwater harvesting systems and grey water recycling systems (see product demo).  Water tanks are an integral part of our water systems; we are authorised JoJo Tank dealers in South Africa- we can deliver and install just about any water tank that you may require. We also supply water tank stands that are certified by engineers.