French solar roadways project declared a failure

A test case for the solar road technology which attracted attention in 2016 has now been declared a failure by the Global Construction Review and France’s Le Monde.

A one kilometre solar panel road that was opened in Normandy, near the town of Tourouvre, in 2016, has failed to live up to promised standards of durability or energy production.

According to Le Monde reporting from July, the solar panels have degraded to the point that 100 metres of the road had to be removed entirely. Power production only reached half of what was expected during the first year, and has dropped by nearly half every year since.

The solar panel road proved unable to handle wear and tear caused by traffic, specifically from tractors, and by storms, and its ability to generate power was impeded by leaf litter accumulating on the road.

The CEO of the company behind the solar road, Etienne Gaudin of Wattway, announced that the model used in Tourouvre would not being going to market, and that the company would switch focus to “small modules of 3, 6 or 9 sq m, enough to provide enough electricity for a CCTV camera, bus shelter lighting or an electric bicycle charging station.”