France has just inaugurated the world’s first solar panel road for cars, at an investment of €5 million (about Rs 35.6 Crore). The French Ministry of the Environment announced the inauguration of the “unprecedented” new road on Thursday, which is covered by solar panels and stretches for more than half mile (1 km) at a small village of Tourouvre-au-Perche in Normandy, France.
BENOIT TESSIER / Reuters
“This new technology is unprecedented,” the ministry said in its statement. The road is called Wattway, and is developed by a company called Colas – a transport infrastructure company based in France, owned by Bouygues S.A. Covered with a total of 2,800 square meters of photovoltaic panels, the road was inaugurated last week by France’s ecology minister, Ségolène Royal. She also revealed her plans to pave 1000 kilometers (621 miles) of road with solar panels over the next five years.
The road will be used by approximately 2,000 motorists a day during its two-year test period, and French officials hope the road will generate enough electricity to power streetlights in the small town of about 3,400 residents.
Inauguration de la route solaire dans l'@ornedepartement: "cette 1ère mondiale est un véritable laboratoire à ciel ouvert !" @RoyalSegolene pic.twitter.com/2q2Sw1BKRO
— Laurent Becler (@laurentbec) December 22, 2016
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