France inaugurates the first section of solar road in the world

The pavement is composed of especially solid solar panels with which it is planned to feed the public lighting of a town of 5,000 inhabitants

  France has opened on Thursday the first section of solar road in the world on a local road in Normandy, which has a kilometer of extension and whose pavement is composed of especially solid solar panels. It is a pioneering project with which it is planned to feed the public lighting of a town of 5,000 inhabitants.

However, this one has received criticism from various environmental organizations that consider its cost, 5 million euros, exorbitant for the amount of energy it can produce. The Minister of the Environment, Ségolène Royal, in charge of inaugurating the infrastructure, assured that it is an idea that is in line with the country's energy transition towards renewable energies.

  According to his department, this type of solar panels are specially designed to support the weight of any vehicle, including the truck, and ensure the adherence of the tires. France has a million roads and paving a quarter of them, the country would reach its energy independence.

For the section inaugurated today, a kilometer from a departmental road that leads to the Norman municipality of Tourouvre-au-Perche, it is estimated that 2,000 motorists circulate on average every day. According to the calculations of those responsible for the project, traffic occupies the roads only 20% of the time, so it does not deprive them of much sun exposure. The 2,800 square meters asphalted with this special material in Normandy are the result of five years of tests with small sections installed in parking lots or in front of public buildings. Some environmental associations criticize that with this type of works the Government seeks an announcement effect without real progress.

Other priorities

"Without a doubt it is a technical advance, but to develop renewables there are other priorities that this toy that we know is very expensive but not if it works well," he told Le Monde newspaper, the vice president of the Network for Energy Transition (CLER) ), Marc Jedliczka. In fact, the price of the kilowatt produced in this solar track is about 17 euros, compared to 1.3 for the one generated in a photovoltaic installation on a roof.

Experts point out that slightly inclined installations are more efficient when it comes to producing electricity, a disadvantage of this initiative, since it is horizontal. Without counting what will be the real resistance of these panels of the road to the passage of vehicles, weather and other circumstances. The people in charge of the project maintain that the stretch inaugurated today is a test and that the price of the infrastructure will decrease as the demand increases, which will also lower the cost of the energy produced. In 2020, they point out, the price of the kilowatt produced on a solar highway will be similar to that of another photovoltaic plant.