A revolutionary solar bike path that generates electricity for multiple households is being developed in the Netherlands. The small town of Krommenie, located about 25 kilometers from Amsterdam, is currently building a high-tech solar bike path that will provide energy for three households. The first stretch of the path is only 70 meters long, but it will be extended to around 100 meters by 2016. The project is being supported by the province of North Holland, which provided 1.5 million euros, half of the total construction cost. The solar bike path is being built by the consortium SolaRoad and is expected to be completed by October 24, with the opening ceremony scheduled for November 12.
The solar bike path is made up of concrete modules with solar cells protected by a thick glass plate. The path is designed to allow trucks to drive on it without damaging the solar cells. However, the efficiency of the solar bike path is lower than that of solar panels on rooftops, as the panels are not directly facing the sun. The project leader, Sten de Wit, believes that in the future, not only bike paths but also roads could be used to generate electricity. The Netherlands is already working on another pilot project to develop the road of the future, which could allow electric vehicles to be charged directly from the road through induction.
The idea of using roads as power plants is not new. An American couple recently raised around two million dollars through crowdfunding to build the world’s first solar road. If every highway in the US were a solar road, the country could produce three times more electricity than it currently consumes. However, the cost of building a solar road is about three times higher than that of a regular road. Despite this, the development of solar roads and bike paths is an exciting step towards a more sustainable future.
