Skip to main content

Solaroad installed on cycle path to power roundabout, France

French road-building company Charier has introduced the SolarRoad kit (SRK) on a newly-laid cycle path in Etampes, France, that uses two SRK elements to convert sunlight to electricity and provide lighting for a roundabout. The installation helps Charier meet sustainability objectives within the framework of the Paris Agreement.
October 16, 2017 Read time: 1 min
French road-building company Charier has introduced the SolarRoad kit (SRK) on a newly-laid cycle path in Etampes, France, that uses two SRK elements to convert sunlight to electricity and provide lighting for a roundabout. The installation helps Charier meet sustainability objectives within the framework of the Paris Agreement.


The SRK has four elements of 2.5 x 3.5 meters and delivers approximately 3,500 kwh per year, which according to Solaroad, is enough energy to power an average household for one year. The technology can be applied to a business park, courtyard, square, bike path or a footpath. It can provide energy for lighting, illuminating a shop window, heating, Wi-Fi access points or, as now in Groningen, a charging point for e-bikes or mobile phones.

Related Content

  • December 6, 2017
    Mexico City seeks solutions to improve air quality
    David Crawford ponders prospects for one of the world’s most congested and polluted cities. In 1992, the United Nations named Mexico City as the world’s most polluted urban centre. In the first half of 2016, following the updating of pollution alert limits to meet international standards, Mexico recorded 115 days where ozone concentrations exceeded the acute exposure health limit.
  • February 1, 2012
    Positive incentives an alternative to road user charging?
    The Netherlands has been looking at incentivising rush-hour avoidance. The intention is to better understand road users' motivations and find alternatives to congestion charging. Something significant needs to happen if we are to adequately address the traffic congestion and other issues caused by the ever-rising numbers of vehicles on our roads. Congestion or distance-based charging is seen as one way of managing demand and raising revenue for improvements to transport infrastructure. However, charging is
  • January 26, 2012
    Refurbishing ageing VMS with new technology
    Virginia DoT faced a challenge common to many highway authorities around the world: the need, in economically challenging times, to replace ageing variable message signs reaching the end of their operational life. For some 25 years now, since the mid 80s, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT), has deployed variable message signs (VMS) as part of its motorist information systems. Throughout the state there are still many old 'flip-disk' signs. Some of the companies that provided these electronic messa
  • November 26, 2013
    US favours express buses are for intercity travel
    David Crawford records an upsurge in ground travel. Express buses are powering ahead of air and rail as the US’ most-favoured form of intercity travel and major operators are investing in passenger-attracting and retaining technologies. At the same time ‘kayak’-style price comparison websites are emerging to widen rider choice. Modelled on airline industry search engines that find cheap flight deals by comparing carriers’ offers, these new websites aim to fill the same gap for a ground-travel equivalent