TABLE OF CONTENT

Sl.no Pg.no

Acknowledgement

1 Abstract

2 Introduction

3 Literature review

4 Requirements

5 Design

6 Types

7 Working & Mechanism

8 Applications

9 Comparison

10 Advantages & disadvantages

11 Trails & Testing

12 conclusion

13 References

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my proud privilege and duty to acknowledge the kind of help and guidance
received from several people in preparation of this report. It would not have been possible to
prepare this report in this form without their valuable help, co-operation and guidance.

First and foremost, I thank to my parents for financing my studies and constantly
encouraging me and diverting my way towards success. I thank to all my teachers for their
constant encouragement and quality education they provided to me and prepared me such that
I could stand alone and present seminar and report.

I wish to regard my sincere gratitude to the management of impact college of

engineering and to our beloved principal, dr. A N Khaleel ahmed for his constant support and
encouragement in preparation of this report and for making available library and laboratory
facilities needed to prepare this report.

My sincere thanks to Ms. Rashmi Dandavati, HOD, department of civil engineering

for his valuable suggestions and guidance throughout the period of this report.

I express my sincere gratitude to my guide Mr. Anand Kumar G, professor,

department of civil engineering, ICEAS, Bangalore. For guiding me in investigations for this
seminar and carrying out experimental work. The numerous discussions with him were
extremely helpful. We hold him in esteem in guidance, encouragement and inspiration
received from him.

My sincere thanks to Ms. Manasa Balakrishna, professor, department of civil

engineering for co-ordinating in all project related work. Her contributions and technical
support in preparing this report are greatly acknowledge.

MOHAMMED TABREZ AHMED

1IC14CV014 / 8th Sem Civil Engg.
ICEAS, Bangalore - 93

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 Chapter 1

ABSTRACT

Harnessing solar energy for the cause of sustainability in modern civilization reduces
the extent of pollution and inline global warming, which is changing the worlds climatic
condition and as a result melting of ice caps and increasing levels of sea which are posing very
serious danger to humanity. To lesser the extent of pollution and therefore global warming
many innovative steps has been taken such as use of electric driven vehicles, restriction in use
of cfcs, catalytic convertors in petroleum-based vehicles etc, in-line with these ideas there came
an idea of using solar energy, which is renewable, abundantly available and evenly distributed
energy resource, to generate electricity, heat and light. In order to make the solar power a viable
economical option, open spaces that are situated close to the high energy demand areas must be
identified. Hence, it is proposed that open spaces in urban areas such as the roads, parking lots,
bicycle lanes, footpaths etc. be utilized for this purpose. In order to use these open spaces for
producing electricity using solar panels, recently, the concept of solar roadways/highways have
been introduced.”

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 Chapter 2

INTRODUCTION

Nature has provided bountiful resources surrounding us for sustenance of a better life.
These resources, along with manpower and capital, plays an important role for expansion to
national output. However, the advancement of modern civilization has a great impact on our
planet's natural resources. Therefore, sustainable solutions are a requirement for modern design
problems due to society’s overreliance on natural resources. Thus, innovative ideas which
focus on sustainability must be considered as a key priority for design and optimization.
One of the primary solutions for this problem is the increase in use of renewable energy
resources. Different types of renewable energy resources are solar, wind, ocean and geothermal
energy. Among these, solar energy is the only resource which is abundantly available and
evenly distributed worldwide. Hence developing technologies to capture this solar energy is
the need of the hour.
In order to overcome the relatively low efficiency of the solar panels, significantly large
amount of open space is required for the production of electricity in the photovoltaic solar panel
applications. Since availability of large open spaces is on the decline near the urban areas, the
solar panels can only be installed in remote areas. But this can lead to huge energy losses. The
low efficiency of the solar panels as well as the necessity to deal with the transmission losses
makes the use of solar panels a non-viable economical option to produce electricity. In order
to make the solar power a viable economical option, open spaces that are situated close to the
high energy demand areas must be identified. Hence, it is proposed that open spaces such as
the roads, parking lots, bicycle lanes, footpaths etc. be utilized for this purpose. In order to use
these open spaces for producing electricity using solar panels, recently, the concept of solar
roadways have been introduced.
The Solar Roadway is a series of structurally-engineered solar panels that are driven
upon. It would utilize the use of roads that would be covered by photovoltaic panels. The idea
is to replace all current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with Solar
Road Panels that collect energy to be used by our homes and businesses. The ultimate goal is
to store excess energy in or along-side the Solar Roadways.
Through the issues associated with urban heat islands it is known that pavements are
often exposed to a vast amount of solar radiation throughout the day. If it was possible to
convert a portion of this energy to usable forms, civil and infrastructure issues could be solved
simultaneously.
Two methods have already been developed to generate energy from roads, using asphalt
pavement as a solar thermal collector and installing piezoelectric generators to collect vibration
energy from the traffic load on the pavement. Recent studies have also begun to use
thermoelectric systems to extract heat energy from roads and directly convert it to electricity.
This project is taking a different approach to the concept as, through photovoltaics. Radiation

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is directly converted into electricity on the surface of the panel without a heat or vibration
conversion.

2.1 SOLAR ROADWAYS

A solar roadway is a road surface that generates electricity by solar power photovoltaic
cells. It consists of structurally engineered solar panels that we drive on.
Each Solar Road Panel (roughly 12’ by 12’) interlinks with neighbouring panels to form the
Solar Roadways system. The Solar Roadway replaces our crumbling petroleum-based asphalt
highway infrastructure with an intelligent road that pays for itself through the generation of
electricity. The Solar Roadway generates electrical power from the sun and becomes our
nations decentralized, intelligent, self-healing power grid, replacing our current deteriorating
power distribution infrastructure.
The Solar Roadway distributes its electrical power to all businesses and homes
connected to the system via their parking lots and driveways (made up of Solar Road Panels).
In addition to electrical power, data signals (cable TV, high-speed internet, telephone, etc.) also
travel through the Solar Roadways, which acts as a conduit for these signals (cables). This
feature eliminates the unsightly power lines, utility poles, and relay stations we see all over the
countryside. It also eliminates power interruption caused by fallen or broken electrical lines or
poles.

Fig 1.1: Solar roadways

2.2 PHOTOVOLTAIC
The main philosophy of solar roadways is to convert solar energy into electrical energy
by the principle of photovoltaics. Photovoltaics (PV) is a method of generating electrical power
by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit
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the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a
number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material.
To understand how photovoltaic operate, the nature of sunlight has to be understood.
The structure of all type of light consists of electromagnetic radiation which is similar to micro
and radio waves. When an electromagnetic radiation becomes incident on a semiconductor
material (p-n junction), the photons are absorbed by the material and electrons are knocked
loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material. If electrical conductors are attached to the
positive and negative sides, forming an electrical circuit, the electrons can be captured in the
form of an electric current, that is, electricity. This electricity can then be used to power a load,
such as a light or a tool.

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 chapter 3

LITERATURE REVIEW

Ayushi Mehta, neha Agarwal & Anjali tewari of IMS engineering college, gaziabad with title
“solar roadways – the future of highways” concluded with the advantages as 1. Renewability
and life span 2.military and rescue assistance 3. Roadways already in place 4. Lighting up of
roads with initial high cost and stated challenges with its maintainance cost, seasonal efficiency
and need for new town planning.

Alark a Kulkarni, director, orbit consultants pvt.ltd, pune with title “solar roadways –
rebuilding our infrastructure and economy” concluded that “generally the solar highway will
1. Create an intelligent, secure highway infrastructure that pays for itself. 2.create an intelligent,
secure, decentralized, self heling power grid.3. eliminating the need for coal fired or nuclear
powered plants. 4. End our dependency on oil and other fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas)
5. Cut our nations greenhouse gas emissions by over 50% 6. Provide safer driving conditions
7. Snow and ice management 8. Traffic management 9. Wild life management 10. National
security 11. Usage of recycled materials.

Andrew northmore and dr. susan tighe, university of waterloo in the conference of
transportation association of Canada federicton 2012, new Brunswick concluded that indeed it
is structurally feasible to design a solar road panel. And presented the design of solar panels
with 0.91m square, 50.8mm tall which contains 25,122mm square photovoltaic cells and
weights 48.35 kg.

Karthik s a research scholar, center for maritime research, AMET University, India with title
“Feasible Design for solar highway” checked for the feasibility of the design given by Andrew
northmore and concluded that it

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 Chapter 4

REQUIREMENTS

4.1. STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS

The structural design requirements for a solar road panel are as follows:
1. The structure must be able to support the cyclic distributed load from vehicle tires without
failing through deformation, fracture.
2. The transparent layer cannot deflect over the cell compartments so much that the layer
transmits load to the solar cells.
3. The structure must be corrosion resistant to potential contaminants.
4. The design must be modular and facilitate easy maintenance.
5. For this prototype's purposes, the panel must be made out of readily available components
and materials.
6. The weight of the panel must be low enough such that it can be easily maneuvered for testing
and installation purposes.

4.2. ELECTRICAL DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

The electrical design requirements for a solar road panel are as follows:
1. The panel should be designed so that no shading of the solar cells occurs.
2. The interconnection between the cells should be strong enough to withstand potential
deflections from the optical layer.
3. The panel must be weatherproof so that water and other contaminants are not able to
interfere with the electronics.
4. There must be a diode installed on the output electrical line of the panel to block reverse
currents, as this would damage the solar cells within the panel.

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 CHAPTER 5

DESIGN

There are two types of solar panels designed for roads. First the one that is laid as
complete road with three layers which was designed in the University of Western Ontario, the
design of the panel was done by COMSOL Multiphysics, an engineering simulation software.
COMSOL Multiphysics which has both the modelling and simulation capabilities for
Multiphysics systems was used to ascertain the feasibility for different vehicular applications
and for suggesting future material. The model created in the COMSOL Multiphysics for the
analysis purpose consists of a vertically hollow square base layer with sides 4 meters in length,
0.5 meter in height and 0.1 meter in thickness. The base layer is considered to be made up of
concrete, and covered with a transparent cover of size 4 m and thickness 0.01 m made up of
acrylic plastic, whose material properties are given in Table 1. The acrylic sheets have a
working temperature range of -40°C up to 93°C, and the elastic properties are assumed to
remain constant in this temperature range.

Table 1: Material properties for Acrylic plastic and Concrete

(Source: ir.lib.uwo.ca)

As the solar roadways panels are to be laid over the existing roads, the primary loads
acting on the solar roadways panels are the vehicle loads. For the analysis, the loads associated
with the vehicles are selected based on the specification from American Association of State
Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Two types of loadings, H loading and HS
loading are given by AASHTO. H loading consists of a two-axle truck and HS loading consists
of a tractor truck with semi-trailer. In general, there are four standard classes of highway
loading conditions, namely H15, H20, HS15 and HS20. The number following the H and HS
letter denotes the gross weight in tons of a standard truck. The HS20 standard truck load, a
maximum stress of 1.82x103Mpa is much higher when compared to the ultimate tensile
strength of 69Mpa and the displacement results indicate that maximum surface displacement
was also very high at 1.12 meters. Hence it can be concluded that the selected top cover material
is not suitable for the applied load and this cannot be used as a top cover for solar roadways
panel, where vehicles of size similar to a truck are moving over it.
As the selected material failed for the load of a truck, in order to test the maximum load,
the material selected for the top cover of solar roadways panel can take on, stress and
displacements due to a car, bicycle and a motorbike load moving over the solar panel were

8
analysed. The specifications of the vehicles are given in table 2. According to standard
specifications and code of practice for road bridges (IRC: 6- 2000), the car and the motorbike
belongs to Class A loading and bicycle belongs to Class B loading.

Table 2: Specifications of car, motorbike and bicycle used in the analysis

(Source: ir.lib.uwo.ca)

The size of selected base layer was 1.5 m x 0.2 m x 0.1 m, covered by a transparent top
cover of size 1.5 meters and with a thickness of 10 mm. It was found that the total weight of
the bicycle, 90.7kg (including weight of the bicycle and person travelling on it) caused a stress
of 20.67MPa, which is quite low when compared to the ultimate tensile strength of 69MPa.
The maximum surface displacement was 2.05mm, which is well below the AASHTO design
standard. Whereas in the analysis considering
motorbike and car it was found that if the young’s modulus is increased from 50.8x109 to
50.8x1010 Pa, a thickness of 15mm and 25.4mm was suitable for both vehicles respectively.
The second one is developed by the colas company, a pavement surface that can be
glued on the existing paved roads designed with depth of around 7mm and varying length and
width. It is designed to bear around 7tons of loads. In this there is no glass panel.
Each panel consists of 15cm wide cells making up a very thin film of polycrystalline
silicon that transforms solar energy into electricity. These extremely fragile photovoltaic cells
are coated in a multilayer substrate composed of resins and polymers, translucent enough to
allow sunlight to pass through and resistant enough to withstand truck traffic and is sturdy. The
composite “sandwich” is also designed to adapt to the pavements natural thermal expansion.
The surface that is in contact with vehicle tires is treated to ensure skid-resistance equivalent
to conventional asphalt mixes.
In this perfect watertight layer cake, the electrical system is designed to ensure that the
entire system does not short circuit if one cell is down. Electrical connections can be hooked
up on the side of traffic lanes, in gutters or in ducts integrated in the panels themselves. Lastly,
electronic circuit breakers ensure safety.

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 CHAPTER 6

TYPES OF SOLAR ROADWAYS

6.1. SOLAR ROADWAY

A solar roadway is a series of structurally engineered solar panels that are driven upon.
The idea is to replace current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with
solar road panels or to glue the colas designed solar pavement surface on the existing road
surface that collect energy to be used by homes and businesses, and ultimately to be able to
store excess energy in or alongside the solar roadways. The renewable energy generated by
solar road panels will replace the current need for fossil fuel, which in turn reduces the
greenhouse gases.
Parking lots, driveways, and eventually highways are all targets for the panels. If the
entire United States Interstate Highway system were surfaced with Solar Roadways panels, it
would produce more than three times the amount of electricity currently used nationwide.
Existing prototype panels consist of three layers.
Road surface layer - translucent and high-strength, textured glass, that is rough enough
to provide sufficient traction, yet still passes sunlight through to the solar collector cells
embedded within, along with LEDs and a heating element. This layer needs to be capable of
handling today's heaviest loads under the worst of conditions and to be weatherproof, to protect
the electronics layer beneath it.
Electronics layer/Optical layer - It transmits the load around the solar cells. It contains
a microprocessor board with support circuitry for sensing loads on the surface and controlling
a heating element with a view to reducing or eliminating snow and ice removal as well as
school and business closings due to inclement weather. The microprocessor controls lighting,
communications, monitoring, etc. With a communications device every 3.66m (12 feet), a solar
roadway can be an intelligent highway system.
Base plate layer - While the electronics layer collects energy from the sun, it is the base
plate layer that distributes that power as well as data signals (phone, TV, internet, etc.) down
the line to all homes and businesses connected to the solar roadway. It has to transmit the load
to a pavement, subgrade, or base structure. It needs to be weatherproof to protect the electronics
layer above it.

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 Fig 2.1: Exploded view of a conceptual solar road panel
(http://www.tac-atc.ca)

When multiple Solar Road Panels are interconnected, the intelligent Solar Roadway is
formed. These panels replace current driveways, parking lots, and all road systems, be they
interstate highways, state routes, downtown streets, residential streets, or even plain dirt or
gravel country roads. Panels can also be used in amusement parks, raceways, bike paths,
parking garage rooftops, remote military locations, etc. Any home or business connected to the
Solar Roadway (via a Solar Road Panel driveway or parking lot) receives the power and data
signals that the Solar Roadway provides. The Solar Roadway becomes an intelligent, self-
healing, decentralized (secure) power grid.

6.2. WATTWAY
a pavement surface that can be glued on the existing paved roads designed with depth
of around 7mm and varying length and width. It is designed to bear around 7tons of loads. In
this there is no glass panel.
Each panel consists of 15cm wide cells making up a very thin film of polycrystalline silicon
that transforms solar energy into electricity.

When multiple Solar Road Panels are interconnected, the intelligent Solar Roadway is
formed. These panels are glued on current driveways, parking lots, and all road systems, be
they interstate highways, state routes, downtown streets, residential streets. Panels can also be
used in amusement parks, raceways, bike paths, parking garage rooftops, remote military
locations, etc. Any home or business connected to the Solar Roadway (via a Solar Road Panel
driveway or parking lot) receives the power and data signals that the Solar Roadway provides.
The Solar Roadway becomes an intelligent, self-healing, decentralized (secure) power grid.

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 CHAPTER 7

WORKING AND MECHANISM

· When a solar panel exposed to sunlight, the light energies are absorbed by a
semi conduction materials.
· Due to this adsorbed energy, the electrons are liberated and produce the external DC
current.
· The DC current is converted into 240-volt AC current using an inverter for different
applications.

7.1 - MECHANISM

• First, the sunlight is absorbed by a solar cell in a solar panel.

• The absorbed light causes electrons in the material to increase in energy. At the
same time making them free to move around in the material.
• However, the electrons remain at this higher energy for only a short time before
returning to their original lower energy position.
• Therefore, to collect the carriers before they lose the energy gained from the
light, a PN junction is typically used.
• A PN junction consists of two different regions of a semiconductor material (usually
silicon), with one side called the p type region and the other the n-type region.
• During the incident of light energy, in p-type material, electrons can gain energy and move
into the n-type region.
• Then they can no longer go back to their original low energy position and remain at a higher
energy.
• The process of moving a light- generated carrier from p-type region to n-type region is
called collection.
• These collections of carriers (electrons) can be either extracted from the device to give a
current, or it can remain in the device and gives rise to a voltage.
• The electrons that leave the solar cell as current give up their energy to whatever
is connected to the solar cell, and then re-enter the solar cell. Once back in
the solar cell, the process begins again.

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 CHAPTER 8

APPLICATIONS

8.1 ILLUMINATED ROADS

Unlike the dark roads we drive on by night today, the Solar Roadways will have LEDs
which will "paint" the lanes, and can be instantly customized as needed. The LEDs could be
utilized to create messages on the roads to warn drivers of detours, accidents, or construction
works up ahead. With an illuminated highway, accidents will be reduced and night time driving
will be safer.

Fig 8.1: Solar roadway with pavement markings

(http://solarroadways.com)

8.2 SNOW / ICE MANAGEMENT

A benefit to the use of solar roadways is that the de-icing of roads will not be required;
this is due to panels being capable of self-heating, and the glass incorporating the same heating
elements of a car’s rear screen. The panels will have sensors which will determine when the
temperature falls below a certain point and will activate the heating system which will prevent
the build-up of snow and ice. Thus, eliminates the use of de-icing salts and the impacts that
arise due to their use such as, contaminated surface runoff and rusting of road structures and
vehicles.

8.3 TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Each Solar Road Panel contains a microprocessor that monitors and controls the panel,
while communicating with neighbouring panels and the vehicles traveling overhead. The
dashed road lines that are seen on highways can travel alongside at the designated speed limit,
thus helping us to maintain proper speed. The road can warn about traffic congestions ahead

13
and even recommend detours around it. It can even notify law enforcement to assist in tracking
down stolen vehicles or
suspects’ cars equipped with GPS tracking devices. Crosswalk panels can alert drivers when
pedestrians are on the crosswalk. Once the crosswalk panels detect a pedestrian, the LEDs
within the crosswalk begin flashing and a warning is displayed in front of oncoming vehicles.
Wildlife protection system works in the same way. If a vehicle crosses the center line too many
times within a given distance, a ring of LEDs can be drawn around the vehicle, which will
travel with it indefinitely. This will warn other drivers of a potential danger and will alert law
enforcement officials of a potential problem. The Solar Roadways could drastically reduce the
number of deaths/injuries caused by impaired driving. It can save electricity by turning on
roadway lighting in remote areas only when a vehicle comes along.

Fig 8.2: Pedestrian warning system Fig 8.3: Wildlife protection

system (http://solarroadways.com)

8.4 NATIONAL SECURITY Trucks with hazardous materials can be tracked and monitored.
Suspected terrorist's vehicles can be tracked. Public buses and school buses can be tracked.
These vehicles can be fitted with controls to shut down their engines and/or apply their brakes.

8.5 HOMES / BUSINESSES

Businesses will be able to have solar parking lots, which will enable them to quickly
go off grid as well as offer their customers the convenience of allowing their electric vehicles
to recharge while they are shopping, eating, working etc. They will no longer have the expense
of snow removal. Their parking lots will be safer at night with the light provided by the LED's.
Walkways can be replaced with similar solar panels, enabling more energy collection, and the
safety features like lighting and heating. A solar driveway will have many features, including
LED lit address markers and the ability to add customized wording, such as "Happy Birthday
Heather!" or "Wedding reception here. The driveway will also become an instantly
customizable sports court. One minute, teenagers can be playing basketball and, at the touch
of a button, the younger children can play Four Square or Hopscotch or any other game that

14
the homeowner would like to configure. Pool surrounds and courtyards will be another ideal
application for homeowners.

Fig 8.4: Sports court created from solar roadways

(http://solarroadways.com)

8.6 SOLAR ROADWAY LIGHTING

The solar roadways can be supplemented by solar-powered led roadway lighting
system. Highly efficient, long lasting, environmentally friendly and controllable LEDs have
opened up a whole new world of possibilities for lighting. In some remote areas where the grid
power cannot reach, solar powered lighting using high-power LED provides a promising
solution. LED will reduce the power consumption as well as LLP (loss of load power) and thus
is the best choice for solar roadway lighting. A new pilot project by Philips and the Kenyan
Urban Roads Authority to install solar-powered LED street lighting in Nairobi has the potential
to generate up to 100 per cent energy savings, if implemented on a wide scale across the
country. The key to the breakthrough lies in the combination of new High Brightness LEDs
with unique patented optics and an intelligent controller which lies at the heart of the solution.

15
 Fig 8.5: Diagram showing the working of solar road
lighting (http://www.philipsafricaroadshow.com)

8.7 TRAFFIC LIGHTS

Solar traffic lights are signalling devices powered by solar panels positioned at road
intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control the flows of traffic. The
electricity generated by the solar roadways can be used to function the traffic lights.

8.8 TRAFFIC SIGNS

LEDs can be embedded in standard highway warning and regulatory signs to outline
either the sign itself or the words and symbols on the sign.. In general, embedded LED units
are used to:
• Improve driver compliance with regulatory signs through improved conspicuity; and
• Enhance visibility and recognition of regulatory and warning signs to drivers, especially under
low-light or low-visibility conditions. Solar roadways can be used to power these equipments

Fig 8.6: (a) solar powered road sign (b) solar powered traffic light
(http://www.theworld-export.com)

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8.9. DESIGN OF SMART CITIES
The idea is to design cities differently, using a more integrated, participative approach
by pooling natural resources (energy, parking, local services), with, in particular, delocalised
energy production, making it possible to envisage urban areas that produce more energy than
they consume.

8.10. MONEY FOR THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY

The budget for the installation of the system can be fetched by the electricity it supplies
to the household and offices etc. which can be used for the maintenance and for the expansion
of the solar highways.

Chapter 9

COMPARISON BETWEEN BITUMINOUS ROADS AND

SOLAR ROADWAYS

Bituminous roads are those roads in which some binding material such as bitumen,
coal-tar or asphalt is used in surfacing. Such roads are also known as black top roads. The
following are the various types of bituminous surfaces:
1) Surface painting or surface dressing
2) Bituminous macadam
3) Bituminous concrete
4) Sheet asphalt or asphaltic mat
Traditional roads are chiefly composed of aggregates and a binding material whereas
solar roadways are made of glass, solar cells and concrete. Bituminous materials or asphalts

17
are extensively used for roadway construction, primarily because of their excellent binding
characteristics and water proofing properties and relatively low cost. Despite the benefits there
are also numerous drawbacks such as brittleness at low temperatures, softness at high
temperatures and environmental issues such as high energy demand and pollution due to its
production.
Asphalt works, in many ways, and is convenient to lay-down, compared to other
methods. It has carried our automotive infrastructure into the 21st century. But there are hidden
costs that are making it increasingly difficult and expensive to continue favoring asphalt as the
predominant road-paving model for the entire nation. That’s why asphalt is not ideal for road
construction. Bitumen roads have a design life of 10 to 20 years and require resurfacing every
seven years approximately, whereas solar roadways have a design life of twenty one years.
Solar Roadways can pay dividends for the public budget, making our spending on
infrastructure more efficient and significantly reducing electricity costs to consumers and
businesses. They can make the emerging electric vehicle economy far more affordable, and
easier to manage. They can help us eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars per year, or more,
in externalized costs of burning fossil fuels. And, we can lead the world in powerful clean
energy technology exports, capable of rolling back massive pollution and greenhouse gas
emissions.
Road construction and expansion have major environmental impacts. The
environmental impact of road projects include damage to sensitive ecosystem, permanent
disruption to local economic activities, demographic change, accelerated urbanization and the
introduction of diseases due to pollutants. In addition, there are also the emissions which are
released in the various stages of construction process. The amount of greenhouse gases released
directly and indirectly by an individual, organization or event is known as carbon footprint.
The road carbon footprint exists as bitumen requires extracting, refining and transportation to
the location in order construct the road, with the addition of the maintenance and repair energy
requirements later in the life of the road. VicRoads a company based in the state of Victoria,
Australia, recently carried out a project to determine the carbon footprint of road construction.
The company duplicated the Mickleham Road, the road was 2.4km long and consisted of 4
lanes, and they also carried out maintenance work for the project which included installation
of new traffic signals, street lighting and drainage. On the completion of the project it was
determined that a total of 1,820 tonnes of greenhouse gases were released. From the data
collected it was determined that 190 tonnes of CO2/km/lane was emitted for the project. To
offset the emissions released for the total project required the planting of approximately 7,500
trees.
As solar roadways will not be constructed by the use of bituminous materials it will
reduce the use of fossil fuels, as mentioned previously the obtaining and applying of bitumen
causes damage and releases emissions into the environment. The main environmental impacts
that arise due to the solar roadways are the pollution which is generated during their
manufacturing of the road sections, but this is offset by the panels’ ability to recoup it by the
solar energy transfer into electrical power.
The production of the glass surface panels consumes a lot of energy as the main
materials in the production of glass require them to be melted to high temperatures reaching
1500°C, although this is a high temperature an additive has been added to lower the

18
temperature. In the UK the lifecycle CO2 emissions for a photovoltaic system is 58g
CO2eq/kWH. The same system if installed in southern Europe, Spain would have lifecycle
CO2 emissions of 35g CO2eq/kWH the decrease is due to their being more sunlight present
which means greater operating hours.
A benefit to the use of solar roadways is that the de-icing of roads will not be required.
One of the impacts associated with bitumen roads is the use of de-icing salts. There are
numerous varieties of de-icing salts which are used on our roads; calcium chloride, potassium
chloride, magnesium chloride and sodium chloride. De-icing salts used by countries for winter
road protection accumulates to 51% of the worlds output of salt.
The use of salts has many effects on the environment, damage occurs to vegetation,
water, roads, road structures and vehicles. As salt is very soluble it will dissolve with water,
and this is the major problem when water seeps into the ground or water courses where it alters
the properties of the water. The chloride ions present in the salt then raise the chloride
concentrations of the streams, lakes, soils and groundwater sources causing them to have
adverse effects on the aquatic plants and land. The use of salts also increases deterioration rate
in roads and structures as the chloride ions react with the reinforcements and cause rust to form
and leads to corrosion.
One of the major drawbacks in the use of bitumen is the failure of road surfaces due to
water infiltration into the layers of the road. The deterioration rate increases due to the
environmental factors of freeze and thaw. With solar roadways the surface will be 100% water
proof and this will prevent the penetration of water into the lower layers. Thus, the solar
roadways will require lesser maintenance. Moreover, in order to carryout necessary repairs and
installations of underground utilities, excavation of the roads is required. Since solar roadways
consists of panel sections, if the utilities require repair or replacement the road can be cordoned
off in sections without excavation of soil or road layers. This will therefore lead to faster
installation and repair process time.
Another advantage of solar roadways is the micro texture of the surface unlike the
bitumen roads where the aggregates lose their roughness (become smooth) due to weathering
and polishing effects due to traffic. The solar roadways surface will experience these factors
but as glass has high resistance to wear and tear, this problem is less likely to affect solar
roadways.
The panels will get damaged and will not supply any electricity if subsidence on road
occurs. Subsidence is a major problem as it cannot be determined when it will occur.
Traditional roads are able to flex when subsidence occurs, but the solid state of the solar
roadways panel poses a problem. Another problem which will be encountered in its
implementation is the geometry of the road. Bitumen roads curve naturally and smoothly in
corners without any restriction whereas a solar roadway consists of rigid structure and it may
create problem in achieving the natural curve of the road.

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 CHAPTER 10

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

10.1 ADVANTAGES
1. Renewability and life-span
The main advantage of the solar roadway concept is that it utilizes a renewable source
of energy to produce electricity. It has the potential to reduce dependence on conventional
sources of energy such as coal, petroleum and other fossil fuels. Also, the life span of the solar
panels is around 20 years, much greater than normal asphalt roads, which only last 7–12 years.

2. Military and rescue assistance

In the event of an environmental disaster or military emergency, solar roadways would
provide power when it is needed most. As solar power is renewable, it obviously requires no
external connection to an artificial power source.

3. Roadways already in place

Another advantage of solar roadways is that they do not require the development of
unused and potentially environmentally sensitive lands. This is currently a very controversial
issue with large photovoltaic installations in the South western US and other places. But since
the roads are already there, this is not an issue. Also, unlike large photovoltaic installations,
new transmission corridors – perhaps across environmentally sensitive land – would not be
required to bring power to consumers in urban areas. Transmission lines could simply be run
along already established roadways.

4. Lighting up of roads
By adding LEDs beneath the transparent panel, road can be lightened up for safe night
travel and aesthetic look.

5. This is a building block for smart cities

The idea is to design cities differently, using a more integrated, participative approach
by pooling natural resources (energy, parking, local services), with, in particular, delocalised
energy production, making it possible to envisage urban areas that produce more energy than
they consume.
6. Wattway designed solar panels can provide
1. Street lights: 1000 linear meters can supply electricity required for streets for 5000
population
2. Traffic lights, variable message panels etc.: around 15m2 of wattway can provide all
signages and traffic lights current supply at a junction.
3. 20m2 can provide electric supply for a household.
4. 100m2 of panels can provide electric current for a car to run 100000 kms.

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 5. It is paving the way for
 Real time traffic management
 Self-driving cars
 Charging moving electric vehicles
 Eliminating black ice etc.

10.2 DISADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ROADS

1. Maintenance costs:
They are more because road surfaces accumulate rubber, salt, soil and other substances
that block sunlight and must be removed. The durability of the panels may also be less, further
increasing maintenance costs.

2. Seasonal efficiency:
In India the solar road will work efficiently in summer, while it will give comparatively
less efficiency in other seasons due to lack of solar radiations. Where as in the countries where
summer lasts for more than half of year this technique can be efficiently used.

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 CHAPTER 11

TRAILS AND TESTINGS

11.1. SOLAR ROADWAYS LTD.

The company was founded in 2006 by Scott and Julie Brusaw, with Scott as President
and CEO. They envisioned replacing asphalt surfaces with structurally-engineered solar
panels capable of withstanding vehicular traffic.[3] The proposed system would require the
development of strong, transparent, and self-cleaning glass with the necessary traction and
impact-resistance properties at competitive cost.[4]

In 2009, Solar Roadways received a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
grant from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for Phase I to
determine the feasibility of the proposed project. In 2011, Solar Roadways received $750,000
SBIR grant from the DOT for Phase II to develop and build a solar parking lot;from this, they
built a 12-by-36-foot (3.7 by 11.0 m) parking lot covered with hexagonal glass-covered solar
panels sitting on top of a concrete base, heated to prevent snow and ice accumulation, with
LEDs to illuminate road lines and display messages. According to the Brusaws, the panels
can sustain a 250,000 lb (110,000 kg) load.

In April 2014, the company started a crowdfunding drive at Indiegogo to raise money so they
could get the product into production. The campaign raised 2.2 million dollars and became
Indiegogo’s most popular campaign ever in terms of the number of backers it attracted. The
success was attributed in part to a tweet made by actor George Takei, due to his more than 8
million followers. One of the Brusaws’ videos went viral, with over 20 million views as of
November 2015. In December 2015, the USDOT announced that it had awarded Solar
Roadways a Phase IIB SBIR contract to further their research. In 2016 they were given an
additional $750,000.00

The first public installation was in Jeff Jones Town Square in Sandpoint, Idaho. It opened to
the public on September 30, 2016. As a pilot install it is for walkways only. This installation
consists of 30 Solar Roadways SR3 panels covering an area of roughly 150 square feet (14
m2). The cost of this installation was roughly $60,000 with the majority of the money coming
from a grant from the Idaho Department of Commerce ($47,134), and a $10,000 grant from the
Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency. A webcam was installed to broadcast a view of the
installation. The 30 tiles in Sandpoint aren’t yet generating power. The City of Sandpoint's
Proposed 2016-2017 budget includes $500,000 for future Solar Roadways projects.

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11.2. SolaRoad
The SolaRoad is the world's first bike path made from solar panels, and is a prototype
project testing the feasibility of various proposals for smart highways. The 72-metre (236 ft)
path opened in the week of 21 October 2014,[1] and was designed by a consortium of
organizations, which built the pathway in Krommenie, Netherlands.
After a six-month test engineers report results are "better than expected"."If we
translate this to an annual yield, we expect more than the 70kWh per square metre per year,"
Sten de Wit, spokesman for SolaRoad, the company that put it in.
The EEVblog compared the 6 and 12 months trial results from SolaRoad with data
from 3 rooftop solar systems within a few kilometers of the prototype road. The data showed
that rooftop solar systems produced twice the output of the SolaRoad per square meter over
the same period.
In November 2015 it was announced that the path had produced 9800 kWh of
electricity in one year.
In October 2016, the path was expanded with 7 new improved elements. Two
elements of the first generation were removed. In total the expanded path consist of 32
elements (83 meters).
In February 2017, a crack appeared in the top coating of one of the improved elements.

11.3. US ROUTE 66
During the summer of 2016 it was announced that the Solar Roadways firm in
Sandpoint, ID will be attempting trials of its smart highway technology in and around the
community of Conway, MO, as sponsored by MoDOT, at Conway's Route 66 Welcome Center
and Museum, as sidewalk paving. Eventually, if the trials go well, the firm's hexagonal
roadway panels would even be used as paving for sections of the historic Route 66 roadbed
itself in time.

11.4. EXPRESSWAY IN JINAN, CHINA

In Jinan, the capital of the northeastern Shandong province, traffic is now rolling over
a stretch of expressway that’s also generating electricity from the sun, according to state-run
CCTV . Extending for 1 km (0.6 miles), the stretch is made of three layers: transparent concrete
on the top, photovoltaic panels in the middle, and insulation on the bottom. The area covered
comes out to 5,875 square meters (63,200 sq ft).
China is billing the project as the world’s first photovoltaic highway. In late 2016, a
village in France opened what it claimed was the world’s first solar-panel road, running for
about the same length as China’s new stretch though covering about half the area. In 2014,
the Netherlands built a bike path embedded with solar panels.
The Jinan stretch includes two lanes and an emergency lane and is designed for both
electricity generation and public transport, according to Zhang Hongchao, a project designer
and transportation engineering expert at China’s Tongji University interviewed by CCTV. He
said the expressway could handle 10 times more pressure than the normal asphalt variety and
in a year generate 1 million kWH of electricity, which will be used to power street lights and

23
a snow-melting system on the road. It’s also designed to supply power to charging stations
for electric vehicles, should those be added in the future.
But it might be a while before the project can expand, he noted, as the road cost around
3,000 yuan ($458) per sq m, significantly higher than regular streets.
Due to its poor design it was vandalised to thieves.

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 CHAPTER 12

CONCLUSION

The need of the hour for an alternative energy source is increasing at an alarming rate.
We can't wait any longer to find a replacement for oil, which is rapidly disappearing. The solar
roadways if implemented can be a solution for all our energy concerns.
In developing countries, the major part of the geographical area is to be explored in
terms of road connectivity. So instead of implementing the higher targets roads to be developed
per day such countries can reduce the target and develop solar road so they could improve
economy with infrastructure.
Generally, the Solar Roadways will provide safer driving conditions, snow and ice
management, traffic management, wild life protection. It is compiled solar panels which to
replace ordinary asphalt street as it has better features. It is able to produce electricity and
heating elements. It is designed with LED lights which able to act as traffic lines, road
indicators, construction detours and streetlight for roadways. It would be solar panel field,
internet distribution system, and communication system in the future. The reasons why solar
roadways project is viable are to lessen fossil-fuel dependency and reduce global warming
activity. It also has some of its drawbacks such as high cost, durability, and weather. However,
we believe that we would able to overcome those limitations eventually in order to serve the
society with greater efficiency.
Due to these reasons the world think solar highway as future of highways.

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 CHAPTER 13

REFERENCES

1. Kulkarni, A.,(2013), “Solar Roadways-Rebuilding our Infrastructure and

Economy”, International Journal of Engineering Research and
Applications(IJERA), Vol. 3, Issue 3, pp.1429-1436, May-Jun 2013
2. Northmore, A., Tighe, S.,(2012),“ Innovative Pavement Design: Are Solar Roads
Feasible?” 2012 Conference of the Transportation Association of Canada Fredericton,
New Brunswick
3. Rushing, S.T., Tingle.,S.J.,(2009), “Full-scale evaluation of mat surfacings for
roads over sand subgrades” Journal of Terramechanics, vol 46 (2009) 57–63
4. Selvaraju, K.R.,(2012), “Characterization of Solar Roadways via computational
and experimental investigations”, ir.lib.uwo.ca
5. Symeoni, A.,(2012), “A review on energy harvesting from roads”,
http://kth.diva-portal.org.pdf
6. www.solaroad.nl
7. www.wattwaybycolas.com
8. www.civilconstructors.com
9. stephy johnny and keerthy susan john. (2017) “A REVIEW ON SOLAR ROADWAYS:
THE FUTURE OF ROADS” https://ijrier.com/published-papers/volume-2/issue-3/a-
review-on-solar-roadways-the-future-of-roads.pdf
10. Ayushi Mehta, Neha Aggrawal , Anjali Tiwari (2015) “Solar Roadways-The future of
roadways”
http://www.iarjset.com/upload/2015/si/ncree15/IARJSET%2033%20P141.pdf

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