# Solar Powered Roads The DoE Hands Over a $100,000 Contract to Solar Roadways By Tisah Tucknott | Published 2009-09-07 | Autos Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/solar-powered-roads-doe-solar-roadways References: [engadget](http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/solar-roads-gets-small-doe-contract-confidence-to-change-the-wo/) & [solarroadways](http://www.solarroadways.com/) It seems as though covering the world in futuristic roads is at the tip of our fingers. Just recently the [Department of Energy](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/electric-vans1) handed over a $100,000 contract to [Solar Roadways](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/e-clipse-2), a company that specializes in making solar powered panels for the road. The Solar Roadway panels are 12x12 feet in size, and are meant to be embedded into roads where electricity can easily be generated. Solar Roadway claims that with the use of solar powered roads, there would be an end to fossil fuel dependency and a drastic reduction in greenhouse gases. Do you think the government is wasting their money on perfectly good roads? Or do you think it is an intelligent approach to highway infrastructure as it would pay for itself (in the end)? ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 4.0/10 - Popularity: 27% | Activity: 84% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Autos](https://www.trendhunter.com/autos) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Solar-powered Roads:** Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Develop advanced solar panel technology to enhance the efficiency and durability of solar-powered roads. - **Renewable Energy Infrastructure:** Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Create innovative solutions for integrating renewable energy infrastructure into existing road systems. - **Sustainable Transportation:** Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Design and implement sustainable transportation systems that leverage solar-powered roads for energy generation. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Clean Energy:** Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Transform the clean energy industry by manufacturing and distributing solar-powered road systems on a large scale. - **Transportation:** Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Revolutionize the transportation industry by incorporating solar-powered roads into infrastructure planning and development. - **Smart Cities:** Disruptive Innovation Opportunity: Enable the creation of smart cities by integrating solar-powered roads with advanced technology and urban planning initiatives. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Futuristic Solar-Powered Vehicles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lightyear-0.md) - [Solar-Powered Cargo Vans](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/solar-electric-van.md) - [Solar-Powered Sleek Bikes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-solaris.md) - [Solar-Powered City Cars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/city-cars.md) - [Swedish Electric Road Highways](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/trafikverket.md) - [Roof-Mounted EV Charging Systems](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/gosun-sun.md) - [Solar-Powered Blankets](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/solarpowered-blanket.md) - [Sleek Solar-Powered SUVs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/humble-one-suv.md) - [Tree-Inspired Solar Panel Systems](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/solarbotanic-energy-tree.md)