China
successfully tested its first photovoltaic highway based on home-grown
technology in the country’s eastern Shandong province on Thursday, according to
reports from Xinhua. The road has wireless charging systems for electric
vehicles.
The road is
constructed using solar panels which have a thin sheet of clear concrete on top
of them, protecting the surface.
The panels were
built to transfer energy to electric vehicles passing on top of them.
The one-kilometre
segment of solar-powered highway covers a surface area of 5,875 sq.m. The
stretch has three layers. At the bottom is an insulator to prevent moisture
from getting to the photovoltaic devices in the middle layer, and on top is the
layer of transparent concrete.
The tested
segment of highway can generate 817.2 KW of power and is expected to generate 1
million KW hours of electricity each year. The electricity generated will be
connected to China’s national power grid.
China has become
the second country to construct a photovoltaic highway. France was introduced
the world’s first photovoltaic road fitted with solar panels in late 2016.
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