Solar Roadways, a small company in Sandpoint, Idaho, has developed
"solar pavers" that could cover everything from highways to driveways with energy-producing, LED-illuminated solar cells. The firm raised more than $2 million dollars through online fundraising, and plans to use the funds to manufacture the panels in the U.S.
Photo: Solar Roadways

Solar Roadways panels are equipped with smart, micro-processing solar units that interlock, making it easy to replace one panel at a time if damage occurs. In the latest prototype, a tempered glass shell allows light to hit solar panels inside a hexagonal tire-sized panel. The glass protects the panels and can withstand up to 250,000 pounds; beneath the glass a circuit board and multicolored LED lights allow transportation authorities to display various traffic lines or text.

Scott and Julie Brusaw of Sandpoint, Idaho, created the technology and started their company in 2006. They received funding from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration in 2009, which is set to expire this month. Undeterred, the Brusaws turned to crowd funding website Indiegogo for financial support, requesting $1 million from the public that will pay for commercial manufacturing of the panels. The fundraising project ran from April 21 to June 20, and raised more than $2.1 million from contributors. (The Indiegogo page can be viewed here.)

The glass is textured with hexagonal bumps that provide more traction than asphalt, and help the solar pavers perform their core functions. Even when roads are congested and parking lots are full, enough pavement remains exposed to produce energy. A trough alongside the pavement would house cables that transfer energy and data generated by the panels. A separate trough, still in the design phase, would collect stormwater and purify it or send it to a water treatment facility.

The Brusaws believe their tiles could power electric vehicles via charging stations, and even supply the entire nation with electricity, though the solar technology in the latest prototype is just 18 percent effective. Adding the pavers to a large portion of the 31,000 square miles of roads and sidewalks nationwide, however, could render the efficiency question moot.

The panels would drastically change roadway maintenance needs, as the LED lights would make re-painting lines unnecessary. Also, the tiles are warm, naturally clearing snow and ice away, as demonstrated by a winter-long test in northern Idaho.

The circuit boards would allow the pavers to communicate directly with road crews, so if one stopped responding, road crews could respond immediately to the exact location of the troubled spot. All told, the tiles present the prospect of a paving material that pays for itself, the company says. Even smaller implementations of the tiles could power crosswalk signs and streetlights.