How long do you think it will be before someone invents a way to easily coat roads with photovoltaic cells so that they generate electricity? Think of how much power that would generate!
Roads and silicon cells are both made of sand, so why not combine them?
Not very long, the concept has been presented before. They say they can replicate the same frictional conditions as asphalt as well with proper materials
http://inhabitat.com/solar-roadways-to-prototype-first-ever-solar-road-panel/
They say the system would be modular too so when the road needed repair they could just replace “blocks” at a time. I saw a video on another website somewhere that showed more of a working concept, but the inhabitat link was the first thing I found.
Wouldn’t we need to substantially lower the psi footprint of vehicles using said roads?
Otherwise, it would seem, the grid would be destroyed rapidly by traffic.
I’m thinking a spray-on application of some sort, where the PV almost becomes part of the pavement.