Japanese petrochemical giant Eneos began operations by remodeling an existing service station and remodeling it into a posh store utilizing the installation of street solar modules.
The Tokyo Shimbun reported on the tenth that Eneos and road paving company Nippo have collaborated to start out a road solar energy project.
In response to this, this project is an element of the ‘solar energy generation pilot project’.
It’s characterised by specially designed solar energy panels installed on the road surface to resist the load of huge vehicles.
The dimensions of the solar panels installed on the road is 1㎡, and a complete of 10 were installed. Electricity generated by solar energy is stored through the day and used for lighting on the service station at night.
ENEOS said, “We are going to explore the potential of solar energy generation using road pavement, find environmentally friendly energy solutions, and develop sustainable energy supply plans.”
Meanwhile, demonstration of road surface solar energy generation technology continues in Japan.
Japan’s Mirai Labo conducted EV battery storage and control methods and overcurrent safety experiments using solar modules installed on the road to exhibit a product called ‘Solar Mobiway’ in July last yr.
Also, on the third, Tokai Railway installed solar panels on the road using pallets fabricated from recycled plastic. Here too, it is feasible to make use of the EV battery for storage and as a light-weight at night.
Reporter Lee Yu-seon energy@aiitmes.com
