A revolutionary idea that converts existing roadways into a national solar power grid is up for a major cash prize.

Scott Brusaw (shown above) is working on a project to encapsulate solar panels in high-strength glass capable of standing up to thousands of cars and trucks passing by each day. He estimates that a single parking lot paved with solar panels – even one where cars are parked – could power the big box store it serves, and a cul-de-sac paved with solar panels could take an entire subdivision off the grid even on a cloudy day.

Eventually, LEDs built into the tops of solar panels placed on highways could move lanes around, create crosswalks, display speed limits and even detect and warn drivers about road hazards like stopped traffic and crossing wildlife. Best of all, the panels could be laid down over existing asphalt.

The project might sound improbable, but he's got the ear of the Federal Highway Administration and is currently in fourth place in the GE Ecomagination Challenge, a competitive funding opportunity that could get the project off the ground, so to speak. Voting for the Ecomagination Challenge ends next week.

"We've gotten estimates from the universities for developing the glass and it would cost about $50 million to complete the research and get ready for production," said Brusaw. "If we could get part of that, it would get us going and help us finish our R&D."

It all started a few years back when Brusaw and his wife Julie were gardening and talking about climate change. Scott had dreamed of transmitting electric power through roadways since he was a kid playing with slot cars and always thought an electrified roadway could be used as a solution to reduce emissions. "Couldn't you make your electric road out of solar panels?" Julie asked.

That inspired the Brusaws. If they could only create a case for a solar panel that's similar to an airplane's crash resistant "black box," a solar roadway could be possible. Plastic wouldn't work – according to Brusaw, it yellows over time and blocks sunlight. Glass seemed like a solution, but Brusaw knew electrical engineering – not materials.

"When we first started I didn't know if it could be done," he said. "My experience with glass is a window." He did research with the University of Dayton and at Penn State, and the prospect of a non-petroleum based durable road surface interested the Highway Administration who gave him some money to prove his concept.

Despite the energy benefits of paving roads with solar panels, it's the glass case that could save serious cash for towns with crumbling roadways. "The [Federal Highway Administration] is looking for some kind of paving material that can pay for itself, and that's where we came in."

Brusaw said his initial target price is $10,000 for a 12 x 12 encapsulated solar panel. If it drops to $6900 during production, he said he could break even with asphalt. That's not even counting the benefits of an LED display on the road's surface, or the benefits to providing a green energy source on land where there are no issues about rights of way.

"We can fix the power grid, build an intelligent highway and a smart grid all in one swoop and move into the 21st century," Brusaw said.

Brusaw and his wife are currently testing solar panels in his backyard. Since panels are designed to be angled toward the sun which is impossible on most roadways, he's comparing the energy produced from two panels – one angled, one flat. "The odd thing we found is the one that's flat outperforms an angled one on an overcast day," he said.

The next step for Brusaw is getting out of the backyard and into the lab – and eventually into a parking lot, which he hopes will be made possible with funding from GE.

"We can make anything work under lab conditions," he said. "But we know if we go to a Wal-Mart parking lot, we'll have leakage, we'll have breakage and we'll learn a bunch of lessons."

Photo and video: Mark Dixon/YERT

Image: Dan Walden

Post updated 10:35PM EST to reflect the correct name of the Federal Highway Administration and to correct Brusaw's website, solarroadways.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep4L18zOEYI