10 Jan China’s Solar Expressway Meets Light of Day
Could you ever thought that the expressway could serve for something other than fast driving?
The Chinese used that space to collect sunlight!
The road surface is made of a transparent, weight-bearing material that allows sunlight to penetrate. The panels, covering 5,875 square meters, can generate 1 million kwh of power in a year, enough to meet the everyday demand of around 800 households. The project will save the space for building solar farms and shorten the transmission distance.
Electricity produced by the test section will be used to power highway lights, signboards, surveillance cameras, tunnel and toll gate facilities. Surplus power will be supplied to the state grid.
Future functions to be developed include mobile charging for electric vehicles and providing internet connection.
China leads the world in solar power development. Its annual increase of new installed generation capacity has been the largest in the world since 2013. As of the end of September, China’s installed photovoltaic capacity hit 120 gigawatts.
Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-12/28/c_136857894_2.htm