Solar Roadways lit by crowd-funding success

Earlier this month we reported on an ambitious plan to replace -- as much as feasible – the world's road system with specially designed hexagonal solar panels.

As we said at the time, Idaho inventors Scott and Julie Brusaw decided to take the prototype idea to crowd-funding site Indiegogo, in an attempt generate $US1 million to “hire an initial team of engineers to help us make a few needed tweaks in our product and streamline our process so that we could go from prototype to production".

Well, at the campaign’s end around 47,000 supports filled the campaign’s coffers to the tune of $US2.1 million ($A2.06m). The company has also secured grants worth $US850,000 ($A902,000) from the American Department of Transportation.

That should hire a fair team of engineers, but perhaps the extra money will be needed to devise a roll-out plan.

The Solar Roadways concept has attracted scepticism from many quarters, with critics pointing out that many countries cannot afford to maintain their current road network infrastructure, let alone an entirely new network that comprises integrated solar panels and LEDs.

But obviously the idea has captured the imagination of many because of its multiple benefits, including cutting CO2 pumped out by dirty power stations, the increased safety of programmable road markings, the ability to sell LED-illuminated advertising to subsidise the cost and even the jobs generated during construction.

If nothing else, there is plenty to think about here, since the interconnected solar panels can withstand the weight of a semi-trailer, use inbuilt LED arrays to direct traffic around hazards ahead and even melt snow in colder climes.

When not required for those purposes, the solar cells can feed power back into the national grid via conduits built into the road side, reducing the energy load from coal-fired power stations.

The Brusaws remain positive. “We want to use as many recycled materials as we can and keep our manufacturing process as green as possible. We could go on, but you get the picture. If we can raise enough funds here, we won’t have to take on an investor and we won’t have to worry about losing our focus,” the couple told crowdfuninsider.com.

There are plenty more hurdles to be overcome, but the Solar Roadways idea is certainly something to keep an eye on as the potential for futuristic roads made of power-generating glass is shaken out.