A section of solar road has been installed in the Principality. The Department of Urban Amenities along with the transport company Colas, have recently installed a 50-metre section of solar road on Avenue des Papalins, alongside the Parking de la Mer car park.
Just a few millimetres thick, the Wattway paving was laid directly onto the road surface and is made up of 15-centimetre-wide photovoltaic cells which form a very fine polycrystalline silicon layer. These are coated with a substrate composed of resins and polymers, sufficiently translucent to allow sunlight to pass through and resistant enough to withstand heavy vehicles.
The paving produces a 15% yield, comparable to that obtained from other, classic photovoltaic technology. This means that 20 square metres of Wattway-paved road can supply enough electricity to power an average household (excluding heating).
On the section installed by the Department of Urban Amenities, the electricity generated by the panels will be fed into the SMEG grid.
This full-scale test of the new solar panel technology paves the way to transforming roadways, which are public spaces, into a source of renewable energy. Jean-Luc Puyo, Director of Urban Amenities believes that, in future, other roads in the Principality will become sources of renewable energy.
Source: www.gouv.mc
