Testing solar cycle paths in the Île-de-France

The electricity produced by the solar panels lights the path during the day and recharges a battery that takes over at night.

Responding to both environmental and health and safety challenges, new forms of sustainable mobility have become a necessity. During European Mobility Week, September 16, 2019 marked the inauguration by Seine-Saint-Denis of a solar cycle path in Bobigny. A first in the Île-de-France.
This solar path will provide “light day and night on a previously very dark stretch" under main railway lines. It meets "the comfort and safety demanded by users of the Ourcq canal path, which is a main artery for commuting by bike", says the local authority. 
The road construction group Colas was responsible for installing the photovoltaic slabs - which capture light energy - on this section. A stretch that is twenty meters long with a total surface area of 56 m2. The slabs consist of silicon cells encapsulated in successive layers suitable for a road application.
The electricity produced lights the path during the day and recharges a battery that takes over at night. Any surplus power goes into the national grid. "To date, 240 days after the path opened, the amount of energy produced is equivalent to the consumption of one household for 440 days," says the Seine-Saint-Denis authority. The section is a closed circuit in line with circular economy principles.
 

Extend the system throughout the area

The experiment is being evaluated in terms of the sustainability of the system, the amount of energy produced and energy savings.
Although at the moment this solar coating costs three to six times more than conventional photovoltaic panels, Seine-Saint-Denis hopes to see production costs fall. The goal is for it "to be interesting to use all cycle path surfaces to produce electricity," says Vincent Malard, head of the department's sustainable development office when interviewed by France Bleu. A way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from car traffic and at the same time produce green energy!
 

CREDIT: Main picture © Getty Images