Solar Energy ArticlesSolar Road Panel Prototype Small Business Innovative Research (SIBR) is a form of contract that governs the number of solar panels installed on to the roads to make them function as an embedded indicator for the ongoing vehicles. In July 2011, there was a successful completion of the first phase of the contract that was served for this purpose. The prime implementation of this contract was carried out by Solar Roadways Incorporated. Because of the undue amount of success that this Company derived from this project, they have been awarded with a follow up of US $750,000 in order to go ahead with the second phase of the planning implementation. The governing body in this project is none other than the Federal Highway Administration. This initiative to power the ongoing roads of the USA with the solar panels and enabling them to indicate signals to the solar road panels was a part of the bigger picture. It all started in the year 2010, when there were accidents and lives were lost in accidents related to the fossil fuels. Lives were lost in the disasters at the coal mines, oil rigs and the gas line explosions. The nightmare was encountered especially in the Gulf of Mexico, where jobs were lost along with lives. Hence there was an immediate attention needed to curb the dependency on the fossil fuels. A response of this project approved by the Federal Highway Administration was initiated by the "global warming" and its disastrous effects. Due to the horrendous effects of the global warming, there was an urgent requirement of causing a replacement of asphalt and concrete surfaces and installing clean energy sources like solar panels. The idea took shape when it was previously proposed that there should have been the installations of "black box" on airplanes. The idea will materialize and take the shape of implementation soon. It is proposed that the solar panels be extensively used due to their undue benefits in terms of harnessing green energy. Hence it was proposed that the sections of roads be embedded with the materials which had solar panels mixed with them. Hence this would house the solar cells so that energy collection is possible. If this project takes materialistic shape, then it means that the roads which are proposed to be built via these ideas would pay for it. Meaning, the electricity that is generated using the solar panels embedded on to the roads shall be used throughout the day to run the traffic lights and other components that provide guidance for ongoing vehicles. However, it would require a period of time to let the solar panels run after the project enters the production stages. This is because the solar panels first need to offset the energy that was required to build it in first place. Then it can be capable of producing extra energy and continue running for its entire lifespan of 25-30 years. There is one more add-on that can prove to be state of the art technology for any road in the world. There is also a proposal that the paint lying within the road is to be made up of LEDs. These LEDs will not only light up the roads, but also can be used as a scrolling indicator for the ongoing vehicles to indicate stop/go/slowdown signals. To add on top of the technological aspects, the cars can equip themselves with the devices which can derive power from the roads for a certain number of applications. This includes defrosting wire installed on to the rear window of the cars to get electricity from the roads and prevent the accumulation of snow on to the cars surface. The Solar Road Project, thus, is born with limitless possibilities and ideas that are popping in to make this US $750,000 project a major success. Related articles
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