In a world first, the Netherlands has opened a public solar cycle path 100m long that could power up to three average homes.

The bike path in the suburb of Krommenie is to be officially opened on the 12th of November this year. It is currently 70m long and very popular with around 2000 cyclist riding over it each day. The €3m price tag has mostly been funded by local authorities. It sees rows of crystalline silicon solar cells 2.5m x 3.5m topped with translucent tempered glass around 1cm thick. The top glass has a skid-resistant coating and it’s strong enough to withstand falling steel balls.

Electricity produced by the SolaRoad will be fed into the electricity grid. An additional 30m will be added to the system in 2016 and it will then be monitored and data gathered to refine the SolaRoad product. When the product has been refined, it would make sense to use the power to run traffic lights, street lights and so on.

Even if all the suitable rooftops had solar power installed, they could still only account for around 25% of Dutch electricity demand. Incorporating solar roads opens up more opportunities and potential for renewable energy in their energy mix.

“The approximately 140,000 km of roads in the Netherlands cover a total area of about 400-500 km2, which is significantly larger than the total (suitable) roof surface area,” says TNO, the organisation behind the SolaRoad concept. “With the integration of solar cells in road infrastructure, a great potential has come into existence, creating a complementary market for solar panels.”

SolaRoad is being developed in partnership with the Province of Noord-Holland, Imtech and Ooms Civiel.

The Solar Roadways project in the US has also been developing the same idea for a few years now and has been given funding to continue to do so. The potential this unlocks is infinite. If the US implemented solar roadways it would generate three times as much power as it currently uses and reduce greenhouse gases by 75%.

Check out the “Solar Freakin Roadways” video if you have seen it.