Not mentioned is that the roads become easier to replace instead of having to repave them.
The minister told a conference of transport authorities last week that the tenders for the “Positive Energy” initiative had already been issued and the tests on the panels would begin in the spring.
According to France’s Agency of Environment and Energy Management, 4m of solarised road is enough to supply one household’s electricity needs, apart from heating, and one kilometre will light a settlement with 5,000 inhabitants.
So the maximum effect of the programme, if successful, could be to furnish 5 million people with electricity, or about 8% of the French population.