Solar Roadway: Modular Approach for Renewable Energy

Majority of the world‘s current electricity supply is generated from use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Their over-consumption can lead to some serious environmental issues which are harmful for human life. They are non-renewable sources of energy as they are derived from pre-historic fossils. This means we are currently using fuels which were originated 50 years ago and there will be no fuels in future for our energy needs, once depleted. As a result of this, there is a need of alternative energy sources and new technologies for electricity generation. One such alternative source can be solar energy which is a renewable source and is limitless. Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun that can be used in many ever-evolving technologies such as solar voltaic, solar heating, solar thermal energy, etc. The large magnitude of solar energy available makes it highly appealing source of electricity. One such source of electricity can be used in the form of solar rooftops and is considered a common and major source. A major drawback of this source is that we need more space to generate electricity. Often pavements are exposed to vast amount of sun radiation, it is possible to extract a portion of solar energy through solar roadways implementation. Solar roadways are a network of solar panels laid on the road that generate renewable energy. Solar road panels are a technology that replace petroleum-based asphalt highway infrastructure with an intelligent road. Solar roads pay for itself through the generation of electricity. Also, the electricity generated can be stored and supplied to nearby areas. Worlds first solar roadway was implemented in 2011 by United States of America. They envisioned replacing asphalt surfaces with structurally engineered solar panels that are capable of withstanding vehicular traffic. Another company named Wattway inaugurated solar road on December 22,2016.

warming due to growing demand of human for energy sources allow the renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy, to take part for energy production. It is possibly able to end human dependency on fossil fuels. Also, land is often considered as the topmost challenge for deploying solar energy technology. Land is becoming scarce resource in India in recent years and this land should be used in an effective way. As the road network is biggest in India, we can utilize this for generation of energy. Solar roadway plays important role in offering wide range of eco solutions such as stopping changes of climate and generating sustainable energy. This idea could allow the roads in countries to supply energy sources continuously as Solar roadways pay for itself.

Indian road network is considered as the second largest network in the world. This network is further divided into National highways, State highway, Expressways, etc. Our analysis began by studying these different road systems in terms of layers and loading conditions Expressways were selected as they pass through completely new routes but not through large centres of population. This will keep the roads more cleaner and will be exposed to large amount of sun radiations.

According to our studies and research done in past, solar panels must be laid flat on the road. The panel‘s surface area available for sun exposure will be more in case of flat laid panel rather than laid at an angle and thus produces more energy. The solar panel for roads comprises of glass that is strong enough to withstand vehicular load as well as provide enough traction. Also, a solar panel should be transparent so that the sunrays can pass through it and is able to produce energy when exposed to sunrays. The topmost layer is the glass which acts as a protective case to protect the solar cells. Then comes the electronic layer i.e. solar panel on which leds are placed for lighting purpose and last layer also consist of a glass for protection.

A base was prepared which actually consist of recycled glass as aggregate.Cable corridor for electrical installation and drains for safe flow of storm a battery device for storage of energy so as to further supply nearby villages, cities or industrial areas. A model was prepared on the above methodology which was able to produce enough energy.

● The solar panels cover almost 60-65% of road bed surface which is made up of recycled glass as aggregate. The energy generatedby the solar panels can be supplied to nearby areas. ● Solar roads should be implemented in a cleaner environment or roads that are free from any dust as it may affect the amount of energy generated. Thus, it is possible to implement solar panels on Indian roads. ● Solar roads generate enough energy that can solve the problem of electricity in rural areas of India. This generated electricity can be supplied to nearby areas or cities. ● The maintenance of solar roads is not so critical. If any of the solar panels placed gets damaged, that panel can be easily replaced by another panel. It does not affect the whole working of solar roadways.

implementation of solar panels is not much affected by the weight of panels. Hence, Solar roadways prove to be the best for energy generation.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources. As their supply is limited and also scarce to find, they will eventually run out. So, to counter this problem, solar roadways are considered as the most competent technology in terms of energy generation. Even though initial cost is high, as it is a system that pays for itself, it is a better choice. Hence, it is possible to actually implement this system on Indian roads and is capable of producing clean and large amount of energy.

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Graduate Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, ICOER, Pune E-Mail - abhijit.icoer@gmail.com