The Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy of France, Ruayal, this week opened a sunny road in Tourouvre-Au-Perche (Department of Orn in northwestern France, Nizhny Normandy region). And now the country is waiting for whether the road will be as useful as it was positioned by Wattway, responsible for its construction.
The solar road stretches for 1 km and consists of 2880 solar panels. It should generate enough power to illuminate all the streets in a settlement with a population of 3400 people – it is expected that the road will generate 280 megavatts of electricity hours per year (in the summer more than in winter).
France made a large bet on this road and invested 5 million euros in it.
The road was covered with a special layer that will have to protect the panels from any damage.
Sunny road will be tested for two years. Director of Wattway, Jean-Sharl Brizate, with careful optimism declares: “We are still at the experimental stage”. The ultimate goal of France (if the project turns out to be successful) – cover 1000 km of the country’s roads with solar panels.
But not everything is delighted with the sunny road. Some people think that the government spent too much money on it.