China successfully tests country's first photovaltaic highway

Roads with solar panels is no surprise but making a road allocated with the presence of built-in wireless charging systems for electric vehicles and other sensors for drones is something next level and looks like China has successfully achieved that feat.

According to Xinhua, China has successfully tested its first photovaltaic highway based on home-grown technology, in the country's eastern Shandong province on Thursday.

The road is constructed using solar panels which have a thin sheet of clear concrete on top of them, protecting the surface.

The panels were built to transfer energy to electric vehicles passing on top of them.

The 1-kilometer segment of solar-powered highway covers a surface area of 5,875 square meters (about 63,238 square feet).

The special section has three layers. The bottom is an insulator to prevent moisture from getting to the photovoltaic devices in the middle layer, and the top is protective, made from transparent concrete.

The tested segment of highway can generate 817.2 kilowatts of power and is expected to generate 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.

The electricity generated through this will be connected to China's national power grid.

China becomes the second country to construct a photovaltaic highway. France was the first country to introduce the world's first photovoltaic road fitted with solar panels in late 2016.