Back when the concept of global warming was still nascent鈥攐nly eight years ago, mind you鈥 of Sagle, Idaho, began heavily contemplating an idea that Scott, an electrical engineer, had toyed with as a child: solar panel roads.
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After years of figuring out , the Brusaws have developed that’s attracted interest from the Federal Highway Administration, General Electric, and even Google. If their , started this past Earth Day, receives $1 million by the end of May, the Brusaw’s company,听, will be able to test its 听 in parking lots and eventually highways throughout the country.听
听Where most roads ice over in the winter, solar roadways are equipped with heating elements that keep them clear. Where blacktop consumes light and requires bright headlights to navigate at night, solar roadways come outfitted with road-powered LEDs. Where potholes burden travelers for months, individual damaged panels can be fixed in a matter of minutes because nearby panels deliver automated alerts to electricians. They can even store and treat stormwater that erodes current byways and put an end to a Wi-Fi-less America.
Most impressive is Solar Roadways’ energy and capital potential: The Brusaws did the math and found their panels more than pay for themselves. Solar panel technology , but Solar Roadways could conceivably produce .
That energy would power homes, roads, and . President Obama announced a plan to push solar energy in 2010 and is reinforcing his intent by symbolically .