By Katie Davis A t one time it was all about getting the power to the pavement, not we are looking to get power from the roads that we drive on. Missouri’s Department of Transportation announced as part of its “Road to Tomorrow Initiative,” that it will be partnering up with Idaho-based startup Solar Roadways in a project to see road-ready solar panels that generate electricity used on parts of the historic Route 66 Welcome Center in Conway, Mo. There have been no details on exactly when this will happen or how much pavement these road ready panels will replace, however in a statement by Initiative Leader Tom Blair, he said that , “We expect them to be in place, I’m hoping, by the end of this year, maybe before snow flies.”
portation. In addition to that, the group raised more than $2 million with its own crowd funding campaign. What are other benefits to Solar Roadways’ road-ready solar panels other than to generate solar energy, as if that was not a good enough reason? Well these panels can also come with LED lighting to effectively replace road lines and signage and since these road-ready solar panels are modular, repairing damaged sections will be less expensive and troublesome than re-paving with tra- ditional asphalt. So it iseasy toseethat this roadinnovation will save energy and lives and for us that is awinningcombinationworthdeveloping.
Blair also stated that the state will turn to crowdfunding in hopes of ponying up the money to put this plan in motion.
Solar Roadways received a $100,000 grant from the Federal Highway Admin- istration to help build a prototype back in 2009 and the company has since received a pair of $750,000 research grants from the U.S Department of Trans-
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AUGUST 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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