Researchers from the University of Rhode Island are developing four different techniques to harness solar energy from the pavements of city streets to power streetlights and road signs and to potentially melt ice on the roads, making them safer to drive.
The methods range from the simplistic–like wrapping flexible photovoltaic cells around the top of barriers in New Jersey dividing highways to provide electricity to power street lights and traffic signals–to the futuristic, which includes a full replacement of asphalt roadways with roadways composed of durable electronic blocks with photovoltaic cells and LED lights and sensors that not only can generate electricity, but also illuminate the lanes and mark when and where the roads need maintainence.
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