美國聯邦政府現在將資助Solar Roadways公司研發新型態的太陽能路面。這樣的道路系統能超越今日瀝青路面的限制，路面不僅可以發電、將電力傳送至電網，還能提供四色LED照明，以及加熱融雪功能。
Scott Brusaw的太陽能道路募資計劃。圖片來源：影片截圖。
可回收材料製作 配有LED燈與融雪功能
美國運輸部官員特拉考斯特（Michael Trentacoste）和瓊斯（Robert Johns）指出，美國聯邦高速公路管理局在2009年起邀請企業開發可以發電並傳送至電網的路面材料。
要贏得運輸部的初期資金，必須使用可回收材料開發、可以承受道路上的載重，且必須耐用，避免龐大養護費用。為爭取計畫，總部位於愛達荷州的Solar Roadways公司開始針對六邊形太陽能板自持續路面，進行概念性驗證工作。
特拉考斯特和瓊斯表示，如果開發成功，以後路面將不再需要重鋪瀝青，國家的道路系統將轉變成智慧路面系統。
Solar Roadways公司的太陽能板有LED燈，可以從路面下發光照亮路面，增加夜間駕駛安全性。由於Solar Roadways公司的概念性驗證結果相當樂觀，聯邦高公局已經於2011年簽下第二期合約，開發和測試太陽能板路面原型。
智慧路面更有利電動車駕駛
測試多種形狀玻璃樣品的牽引力、負載能力、耐衝擊性和透射能力後，Solar Roadways公司發現最理想的太陽能板材料是表面透明的低鐵玻璃。
Solar Roadways的共同發明人與創辦人Julie Brusaw和Scott Brusaw表示，他們的路面對於電動車駕駛人更有利。「由於Solar Roadways的技術能產生並傳送乾淨能源，電動車可以在任何休息站或是任何有Solar Roadways太陽能板的停車場充電。吃飯購物時就可以同時幫電動車充電。我們的工程師正在研究如何以互感方式，讓電動車可以在太陽能路面上一邊開一邊充電！」
Solar Roadways尚待解決的問題是製程。目前每個太陽能電池組都是手工製作，成本極高。
由於有內嵌的加熱元件，太陽能路面可以融雪，保持水不結冰。Trentacoste 和Johns認為，就算高速公路全面鋪設成本太高，這項發明仍然可以用於停車場、人行道、汽車道和自行車道等小範圍路面。
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| Solar Roadways的太陽能板。圖片來源：Роман Magician（CC BY-NC 2.0） | Solar Roadways的太陽能板。圖片來源：Роман Magician（CC BY-NC 2.0） |
A new type of solar pavement that can generate electricity and send it to the power grid is being developed by the U.S. company Solar Roadways, with funding from the federal government say Michael Trentacoste and Robert Johns of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Solar Roadways, Inc., based in Sandpoint, Idaho, created the new pavement in response to a 2009 solicitation from the Federal Highway Administration that asked companies to develop a new pavement that could generate power and transfer it to the grid.
To receive initial funding from the DOT, the pavement had to use recycled material, withstand traffic loads, and be durable enough to avoid costly replacement cycles.
In response to this solicitation, Solar Roadways began proof-of-concept work on self-sustaining pavement, made from hexagon-shaped solar panels.
If successful, this pavement could eliminate the current practice of replacing asphalt, and ultimately transform the nation’s roadways into an intelligent pavement system, say Trentacoste and Johns.
The Solar Roadway panels feature LED lights that can paint the road lines with light from beneath the pavement, lighting up the road for safer night time driving.
Since Solar Roadways’ proof-of-concept results were promising, the Federal Highway Administration awarded a Phase II contract in 2011 to develop and test a prototype for a pavement made of solar panels.
After testing multiple glass samples in various shapes for traction, load, impact resistance, and transmissivity, Solar Roadways discovered that the optimal solar panel could be made from low-iron glass with a transparent surface. The resulting system surpasses the limitations of today’s asphalt pavement by providing four-color LED lighting and heating features that melt snow from the road.
The co-inventors and co-founders of Solar Roadway, Julie and Scott Brusaw, say their pavement has special benefits for drivers of electric vehicles.
“Since the Solar Roadway creates and carries clean renewable electricity, EVs can be recharged at any conveniently located rest stop, or at any business that incorporates Solar Road Panels in their parking lots (restaurants for instance). Owners can plug their cars in and recharge while they’re eating or shopping,” they say. “Engineers are even investigating ways to use mutual induction to charge EVs while they are driving down the Solar Roadway!”
One of the problems Solar Roadways must still resolve is the manufacturing process for the composite solar panels. Today each of the solar cells is manufactured by hand, and they are very costly to produce.
With embedded heating elements, the solar pavement can melt snow on the road or keep water from freezing, so Trentacoste and Johns suggest that even if the cost for comprehensive highway implementations is too high, the innovation could still be useful in smaller areas such as parking lots, sidewalks, driveways, and bike lanes.
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