14 DAY TRIAL // This past November 12, the Netherlands cut the ribbon on the world's first solar bike path. The ceremony during which this solar bike path was officially unveiled was held in one of Amsterdam's suburbs.
At first glance, the eco-friendly bike path looks like any other road meant for cyclists, not cars. Dig deeper, however, and you will find a whole lot of solar cells put there to harvest sun energy and feed power into the grid.
Not a bike path per se
Admittedly, the Netherlands did one heck of a good job adding solar cells to a road. Still, it's important to note that this world's first solar bike path is not exactly a bike path through and through.
Thus, it is actually a 70-meter (230-foot) stretch that is part and parcel of a much bigger and actual bike path connecting Amsterdam's Krommenie and Wormerveer suburbs.
The solar bike path is the brainchild of a Dutch company dubbed SolarRoad. This company hopes that, soon enough, it will get to subject several other roads in the Netherlands to an equally extreme green makeover.
As detailed by Live Science, this 70-meter bike path was created not just for show, but also to give SolarRoad a chance to test their technology in real-life conditions and decide whether or not it makes sense to add solar cells to roads.
It is understood that the trial period for this solar bike path will be one of three years. During this time, the patch will harvest sun energy, have it converted into power and feed it into the grid. The energy will chiefly serve to power streetlights.
Because the solar cell-embedded ground cannot move around to follow the sun and because the simple fact that they are part of a road makes them less efficient, the bike path will not produce all that much energy.
Then again, having a solar bike path in the world is reason enough to celebrate, regardless of how efficient that path may or may not be. Mind you, there's always room for improvement.
The bike path's anatomy
The folks behind Dutch company SolarRoad say that the bike path comprises concrete slabs that have solar cells embedded in them. To keep them safe, workers added a layer of tempered glass over them.
In order to ensure that the road stays clean, thus making it possible for the solar cells to go about harvesting sun energy unhindered, the bike path was built in such way that it has a slight tilt. Besides, it is covered by a non-adhesive finish.
As mentioned, SolarRoad imagines having several other such roads built not just in the Netherlands, but also all around the world. “Wouldn’t it be nice if our roads act like solar panels? And if we could drive our vehicles with the solar power generated by this?” the company asks.
