The province of Noord-Holland is going to test the SolaRoad pavement in a pilot with heavy traffic. The municipality of Haarlemmermeer and the province will jointly select a suitable location for the project. The new pilot is a follow-up of the successful pilot project on a bicycle path in Krommenie.
The aim of the pilot is to study the performance of the pavement under heavy traffic loading, and to learn about the impact of solar pavement on daily road management and maintenance. Moreover, the test will give information on how to maximize the energy production.
SolaRoad pavement has integrated solar cells, which harvest the incident sunlight and convert it to electricity. With SolaRoad, the road pavement works as a large solar panel. Through this multifunctional use of the existing road network, extra area is created for the generation of renewable energy, without adverse consequences for the landscape. Vice governor of Mobility, Elisabeth Post: “It is time for the next step. Valuable lessons were learnt from the pilot in Krommenie. We know the SolaRoad pavement can perform well on a bicycle path, now we will test the pavement under heavy traffic loading. If the pilot is successful, the potential for large scale application of solar pavements worldwide is enormous.’
Living Lab
The test location with heavy traffic in Haarlemmermeer will be set up as a ‘Living Lab’, integrating the SolaRoad pavement in the public road. The facility will be built in stages, to allow the testing of different materials. The Noord-Holland Provincial Executive decided to grant a funding of 2.700.000 euros to the pilot and its associated research and development.
Collaboration and further development
SolaRoad is a collaborative development of the province of Noord-Holland, TNO, and Strukton Civiel. Parallel to the pilot project, the parties are exploring the possibilities to further commercialize the SolaRoad initiative in a joint corporation.
Smart roads and energy transition
The green electricity from a SolaRoad road can be used for various purposes, such as public lighting, traffic management systems, households, and electric mobility. The innovation supports the sustainability goals of government and industry, in the framework of the Paris climate agreement. It contributes to carbon emission reduction and is an impulse for the development of smart roads and the energy transition.
