Solar Power Hits the Road PDF Print E-mail
Post by Jo Carey   
Tuesday, 19 August 2008 10:44
black, highway
Those long, hot stretches of highway could lead to more than just your destination. A research team at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has found a way to turn asphalt into solar collectors, turning roads and parking lots into inexpensive sources of energy. The hot asphalt beneath our feet could provide a renewable, pollution-free energy source of electricity and hot water and could continue generating energy after sunset, due to the heat retaining properties of asphalt.

The solar collectors would be invisible and existing roads and parking lots could be retrofitted for energy generation. An added bonus would be a reduction of the urban "heat island effect" as a result of the cooling of the asphalt.

Read more at wpi.edu.

Update 9/5/08: Oregon is going to be the nation's first solar demonstration project before the end of this year.

Read more at sustainablebusiness.com

 

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