The news fuzz was about a 70 metre long pilot which has produced 140 kWh of energy in the past two weeks, a promising result according to TNO. The path will be tested during the next three years in order to improve the technology. Though it is a costly project of 3 million euros, the current expectations predict a pay-back-time of 10 years for similar roads in the future.
I think it's a great project as it creates attention both for the European Energy goals and the current level of solar technologies. Solar panels will only become cheaper in the future and though it might seem impossible now, this might create the opportunity to implement them not only in roads but also in roof tiles and lots of other surfaces.
The project might not be a succes in three years but it certainly reached a lot of people. In this way it might trigger another brilliant idea!
(http://www.volkskrant.nl/e
