China builds a highway with solar panels.

Although it is one of the most polluted countries in the world, and after conquering the podium of the countries with the most photovoltaic facilities, China has made an effort to use new, greener means for the production of energy and has now inaugurated the first motorway made with solar panels.

The first solar panel highway has been built in China

Although evolution is slow, many countries have tried to invest in more ecological ways of producing energy. Photovoltaic installations or solar panels are one of the most used means to achieve this and several countries have reinforced their use.

China is one of the countries that has evolved the most in this field, after last year it became the largest producer of solar energy in the world with a capacity of around 78 Gigawatts, hoping to expand to 105 Gigawatts by 2020 For this it has several projects to be built, having recently been inaugurated, the highway made with solar panels.

Located in Jinan, the capital of the province of Shandong, this highway has an area of ​​1 kilometer, with a total area of ​​5875 square meters and consists of three layers: transparent concrete at the top, photovoltaic panels or solar panels in the middle and isolation below. It contains two routes for normal circulation, and another for emergencies, and is designed for public transport and electric vehicles.

Although it may seem like a fragile road, Zhang Hongchao, one of the people responsible for the project, says that this highway holds 10 times more pressure than normal asphalt and can generate 1 million kWH annually. This electricity will be used to power street lighting, the snow melting system and the charging stations for electric cars.

This project has everything to be a success, however its expansion can not be done for a short time, given the high cost of this type of construction. Each square meter of this highway costs $ 458, which makes this an expensive project.

This highway joins other projects of the same nature, after a highway of this type was inaugurated in France in 2016 and a bike path in the Netherlands in 2014.