Two solar cycle paths came online in the Netherlands, and they’re the country’s first to have 1,000 square meters (10,764 square feet) of solar surface area each.

Solar cycle paths

Colas Group’s company Wattway and Dutch construction company BAM Royal Group installed the solar cycle paths in the North Holland and North Brabant provinces. Wattway makes solar road surfaces that produce clean electricity while bearing vehicle traffic.

Wattway, which claims to be the world’s first solar road surfacing company, has been running around 40 trial sites in multiple countries since its founding in 2015. As a result, it’s been making improvements to its solar roads.

The Dutch installations have increased power – 148 compared with older paths with 119 Wp/m² – and the provinces hope to produce “160 MWh/year of renewable energy in its first year, helping to supply the Dutch grid.” The sites will be monitored and maintained for five years.

Wattway solar cycle paths are made with a new type of solid solar panel that’s only a few millimeters thick. The solar panels are glued to the existing cycle paths.

The solar cells are coated in a multilayer substrate composed of resins and polymers. They’re translucent enough to let in sunlight and resistant enough to withstand bike traffic. The solar panel surfaces aren’t like smooth rooftop panels – they’re treated so that they provide the same grip as conventional road mixes.

Electrek’s Take

This is really smart. The Netherlands has cycle paths stretching over 35,000 km (21,748 miles), so its paths could host clean energy makers instead of using the country’s limited land for utility-scale solar.

Hopefully, Wattway can refine its solar cycle paths so they can be installed at scale on cycle paths in the Netherlands and beyond. It’s a clever use of existing space, like putting solar on warehouse rooftops.

Read more: New York City opens 8,500 acres of parking lots to solar canopies

Photos: Wattway

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