Solar Roadways
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Renewable energy, Road construction materials |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Scott Brusaw, Julie Brusaw |
| Headquarters | Sandpoint , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Scott Brusaw (President and CEO) |
| Products | Solar-powered road panels, smart highway systems |
Solar Roadways Incorporated is a US-based startup located in Sandpoint, Idaho, focused on developing solar-powered road panels intended to establish a smart highway system. Their prototype consists of hexagonal panels featuring a glass surface for driving, embedded photovoltaic cells, electronic components, and sensors, all designed to operate as a configurable solar grid. The initiative has encountered skepticism concerning its practicality and economic viability.
History
Established in 2006 by entrepreneurs Scott and Julie Brusaw, with Scott serving as President and CEO, the company aims to substitute traditional asphalt with engineered solar panels that can endure vehicle traffic. This objective demands glass that is transparent, self-cleaning, highly durable with traction and impact resistance, all while remaining cost-competitive.
In 2009, Solar Roadways received a $100,000 Phase I SBIR grant from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to evaluate the project’s feasibility. Subsequently, a $750,000 Phase II SBIR award in 2011 supported the creation of a solar-powered parking lot prototype. This prototype incorporated hexagonal glass-covered panels mounted on concrete bases, equipped with heating elements to prevent snow and ice accumulation, and embedded LEDs for road markings and messaging. The panels are reported to withstand loads up to .
In April 2014, an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign raised $2.2 million—making it one of the platform’s most funded campaigns at the time—boosted by actor George Takei’s endorsement reaching over 8 million followers. A company video went viral, amassing more than 20 million views by late 2015. The USDOT awarded a Phase IIB SBIR contract in December 2015 for continued research efforts, followed by an additional $750,000 grant in 2016.
The first public deployment occurred in September 2016 at Jeff Jones Town Square in Sandpoint—a pilot pedestrian walkway featuring 30 SR3 panels covering approximately . Primarily funded through grants totaling around $57,000, this installation produced about one-quarter kWh daily at peak performance in August 2018, considerably less than typical residential solar systems generating roughly 1.45 kWh per day.
In December 2018, the SR3 pilot was decommissioned due to LED degradation and snow-melting issues linked to metal strips placed between panels. Scott Brusaw announced intentions to install an upgraded SR4 prototype in 2019 at no expense to Sandpoint; the SR4 design incorporates rubber strips aimed at resolving heat distribution challenges.
In June 2019, a second pilot project was unveiled in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area featuring 36 SR4 panels. Solar Roadways also secured a manufacturing agreement to expand production capacity beyond the previous limit of three panels daily, supporting business expansion and scalability.
Criticism
In 2014, Jonathan Levine, an urban planning professor at the University of Michigan, expressed doubts about the project’s nationwide political feasibility, suggesting it might only be practical as a limited trial within confined areas such as parking lots.
David Biello, writing for Scientific American, emphasized material-related obstacles including the requirement for tempered, self-cleaning glass capable of transmitting light efficiently to underlying photovoltaic cells—a glass type not yet commercially available.
Sebastian Anthony from ExtremeTech estimated that replacing all U.S. roadways with Solar Roadways panels would incur costs around $56 trillion based on an approximate price of $10,000 per section. The USDOT’s Phase IIB funding announcement in 2015 acknowledged that manually produced solar cells remain "very expensive to manufacture."
British chemist and YouTube personality Phil Mason echoed concerns regarding high costs and questioned the traction offered by glass surfaces. Solar Roadways conducted laboratory testing using a British Pendulum Skid Resistance Tester and asserted that their panel texture provides adequate grip for vehicles traveling at on wet terrain. Nevertheless, USDOT engineer Eric Weaver stated in 2014 that comprehensive field testing is necessary to verify safety and durability under real traffic conditions.
List of Awards and Recognitions
- Awarded the 2010 Ecomagination Community Award by General Electric, including a $50,000 prize.
- In 2014, Popular Science recognized Solar Roadways in its "Best of What's New" Engineering category, listing it among the "100 Greatest Innovations of the Year."
See also
- Photovoltaic system
- Solar roads
- Asphalt concrete
- SolaRoad – pioneering bike path constructed from solar panels
- Snowmelt system – road technologies designed for automatic snow removal
- Tourouvre – location of the inaugural photovoltaic road project initiated in 2016