Section of solar road installed in Principality

Together with the company Colas, the Department of Urban Amenities has recently installed a 50-metre section of solar road on Avenue des Papalins, alongside the Parking de la Mer car park.

Crédit photo: © Manuel Vitali / Direction de la Communication

Wattway paving is laid directly onto the road surface. Just a few millimetres thick, the paving is made up of 15-centimetre-wide photovoltaic cells which form a very fine polycrystalline silicon layer. These are coated with a substrate composed of resins and polymers, sufficiently translucent to allow sunlight to pass through and resistant enough to withstand heavy goods vehicles.

The paving produces a 15% yield, comparable to that obtained from classic photovoltaic technology. This means that 20 square metres of Wattway-paved road can supply enough electricity to power an average household (excluding heating).

On the section installed by the Department of Urban Amenities, the electricity generated by the panels will be fed into the SMEG grid.

“We are conducting a full-scale test of this new solar panel technology, which would transform roadways – public spaces – into a source of renewable energy,” emphasised Jean-Luc Puyo, Director of Urban Amenities. He added: “It is possible to imagine that, in future, other roads in the Principality will support our renewable energy policy.”

For more information, contact: amenagement@gouv.mc