When President Barack Obama first took office, residential homes with rooftop solar were still few and far between—just 66,000 homes in the U.S. had them. Today—just seven years later—there are over one million.

The reasons for that boom in residential use are many. Concerns over climate change have driven consumers to increasingly seek out renewable and alternative energy sources. The Obama administration’s tax incentives have been generous, and the cost of installation keeps going down.

However, the most encouraging aspect of solar energy’s increasing popularity is that governments, communities and corporations around the globe are starting to buy-in. One place where that buy-in has been particularly interesting is in the Netherlands, where the planet’s first experimental solar bike path was unveiled in November of 2014.

King Bike

In the Netherlands, the bicycle has long been king. At just over 16,000 square miles in size, Holland nevertheless boasts over 22,000 miles of cycling paths. By comparison, the United States covers 3.8 million square miles and has yet to reach its stated goal of 50,000 miles of cycling paths.

Also, the Dutch travel by bicycle 25 percent of the time, and they’re constantly working to add more bike paths to their already expansive network. In other words, construction on a bike path is almost always happening somewhere in the Netherlands.

SolaRoad, a Dutch solar harvesting project, took advantage of that reality with an ambitious plan that stretches from the wheel to the sun and back again.

SolaRoad

Set near the sleepy village of Krommenie, the first SolaRoad bike path is an experiment that could only have been conducted in the Netherlands. Its function is twofold: Create a path for cyclists to safely get from one place to another, while simultaneously harvesting the power of the sun.

It works like this: A path is constructed out of inexpensive and mass-produced solar panels. Protected by layers of glass, concrete, and silicon rubber, the panels are also coated with a material that prevents slipping. It’s also strong enough to support vehicles that weigh up to 12 metric tons.

The logistics of placing solar panels on a bike path also created a certain set of unique challenges. Because they can’t be angled toward the sun like rooftop panels can, the pathway’s solar panels receive about 30 percent less energy than their angled rooftop counterparts. Also, there was the question of whether the materials designed to keep the system safe would hold up in the rainy Dutch weather while being continually ridden over.

The local government spent $3.7 million on a 230-foot test track. Then waited to find out whether or not it would work.

The Results

The test track exceeded expectations by generating over 3,000 kilowatt-hours in its first six months of operation, or enough energy to provide a single-person household with electricity for an entire year. For a system that’s embedded in a surface that would have otherwise harvested nothing, it’s an amazing success, and the Dutch hope to implement it on other paths and roadways, too.

Solar power adoption isn’t just becoming more widespread; it has entered a new and exciting phase of innovation. One day soon, we may all be walking, riding, biking and driving on paths and roads that are harvesting the power of the sun.

If you’d like to find out how installing solar panels on your roof can help you drive your electric bill down to zero, contact us today for a free quote.