America's harsh winters cost the nation's economy billions of dollars each year in snow removal equipment, weather damage to streets and vehicles, extra days of school and revenue lost to closed businesses.
Scott Brusaw, a 53-year-old electrical engineer in tiny Sagle, Idaho, thinks he has a solution. So far, he's generated interest from the federal government and General Electric in his idea for a solar-powered roadway made from super-strong glass, instead of conventional asphalt or concrete.
"I'm looking out the window now at about a foot of snow, so if we can make it work here, we can make it work anywhere in the country," Brusaw said. "I'm hoping this spring we'll start laying the foundation for it right outside our building here."
Cars and pedestrians fight icy roads Solar cells inside its glass surface would allow the roadway to act as a giant solar power generator, fueling embedded heating elements and making plows and other snow removal equipment unnecessary.
The heating elements would work "like in the rear window of your car," said the inventor, who intends to experiment with temperature settings during the next stages of the development process.
Electricity generated by the highway could be used to recharge electric vehicles and to power lights and LED warning signs along the road itself.
In fact, Brusaw believes that solar roadways -- if widely accepted -- could eventually generate clean electricity around the world, eliminating the need for fossil fuels and saving the planet from global climate change.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/01/19/smart.roads/?hpt=Sbin
