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      Solar Panel Roads

      © Scott and Julie Brusaw/Solar Roadways

      Solar Panel Roads

      Solar Panel Roads Are A Brilliant Idea That Now Have A Chance Of Becoming A Reality

      With the last hope for biofuels recently going up in smoke, the need to discover an alternative to fossil fuels feels particularly pressing. Reaching the front page of Reddit today was the story of "Solar Roadways," a company that designs solar panel roadways that, if used to replace regular asphalt roadways, could solve numerous environmental and infrastructural problems. The company was started by a couple, Julie and Scott Brusaw, a psychologist and electrical engineer, respectively, who live in Idaho. On their website they tell the story of how they met as toddlers and how Scott began drawing pictures of an electric road when he was just four-years-old. The Brusaws are currently running an indiegogo campaign that ends on May 31st, 2014 to raise funding. The idea is incredibly innovative and creative and, although the Brusaws have been working on this project for some time, recent publicity has got the world taking notice:

      Here are 10 key details that make the concept of solar panel roadways so incredible:
      1. They're made out of the same material as blackboxes on airplanes as to be impervious to damage.
      2. Although that first point means they are expensive to make, they pay for themselves over time by generating energy through solar power.
      3. Solar roadways would mean electric cars would never have to stop to re-charge. As the Brusaws write on their website: "Internal combustion engines would become obsolete. Our dependency on oil would come to an abrupt end."
      4. The panels have heating elements, so that means no snow/ice on roads ever again!
      5. (The heating panels are set low enough that humans or animals can walk on them)
      6. The panels have LED lights in them and could help improve nighttime road safety.
      7. They are capable of powering homes and businesses by connecting to them via driveways and parking lots.
      8. In their testing, the Brusaws found that although the moon nor the stars produced energy in the solar panels, headlights from cars did. That means, even at night, the panels would be getting power from the cars driving on them.
      9. By eliminating the greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and exhaust from tailpipes, the solar panels could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75%.
      10. The Brusaws also determined, through testing, that the solar panels could produce "over three times the amount of energy that we use as a nation.
      This is an incredible project that we hope gets pushed forward, and with the help of public donations, there's a good chance it will. Check out all the hyperlinked text in the article for more information. And let us know what you think of this project in the comments below!

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