Can you
imagine
the streets
of London
replaced by
solar cells
ways in the UK’s capital. There is
one caveat here though - his focus
is currently on the Brusaws’ campaign. I would urge him to remain
a little closer to home and look into
the Dutch offering first (especially
considering Boris’ obsession with
cycling).
Several critics of the solar road
concept do actually agree that it is
an attractive project and shouldn’t
necessarily be cast asunder. In
this world though, profitability is
a barrier to all things; if something doesn’t make money it won’t
become mainstream. This rules out
the all singing all dancing Solar
Freakin’ Roadways at least for now,
as we simply do not have the capital. However, it is important not to
squash the idea into the ground. To
shoot down pioneering work is to
halt the progression of the human
race. Let’s start at a grassroots
35
level and build from there.
Projects like the Dutch SolaRoad
are useful for smaller, more niche
applications like high-tech parks,
playgrounds, pavements and cycle
paths. And who knows, we may
see some serious developments in
the future. First, traffic lights may
be powered using this technology,
then streetlights, then cars, then
whole streets. Sooner or later who’s
to say we can’t end up with cities?
Research into renewable alternatives to fossil fuels is essential. With
time, breakthrough will build upon
breakthrough and we will emerge
with a sustainable energy source
that will benefit the whole planet. It
is this goal that we must focus on.