Interlocking ‘Solar Freakin’ Roadway’ panels
You’d be forgiven for treating this
proposal with cynicism. It does
sounds like it’s too good to be
true. Indeed, several well-qualified
people have protested passionately
and pessimistically, ‘proving’ that
this idea will never work.
And they’re off!
Back in 2006, Mr and Mrs Brusaw,
an engineering couple in Idaho,
USA, started work on the idea of
replacing roadways with hexagonal
smart solar panels strong enough
on which to drive the heaviest of
vehicles.
Worry not however! The pioneers
continue to push on, and more
recent developments late in 2014
have put things back on track.
But how bright is the future of
solar roads really? Will we ever
get the chance to literally walk on
sunshine? Let’s take a look at the
complicated journey the solar road
concept has taken so far, and the
pros and cons of the technology.
They developed their idea further before, in 2014, announcing
to the world that it was time to
enter it into reality, in the form
of a boorishly attention-grabbing
YouTube video called Solar Freakin’
26