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

  • February 19, 2015
    Funding for cycling infrastructure in Galway
    Galway in Ireland is set to receive part of a US$2.5 million government transport improvement grant to develop cycle paths and other cycling infrastructure in the city and the surrounding area. The grant will be distributed between 14 projects and, as well as money for cycling projects, other transport initiatives will receive funding. The cycling improvements will consist of new cycle paths and on-road cycle lanes, shared cycle-pedestrian facilities, crossing upgrades, increased bike parking facilities, im
  • December 7, 2016
    Contact lens technology could offer alternative to battery power storage
    Research by UK organisations the University of Surrey and Augmented Optics, in collaboration with the University of Bristol, has developed technology which could revolutionise the capabilities of appliances that have previously relied on battery power to work. It could also revolutionise electric cars, allowing the possibility for them to recharge as quickly a regular non-electric car refuels with petrol, instead of the current process which takes approximately 6-8 hours. They believe the development by
  • March 23, 2016
    From sunlight to street light
    A zero-emission LED street light which its Danish developer, Scotia, claims eliminates electricity costs and feed energy back into the grid has been installed in a car park in Copenhagen for seven years and, says have consistently produced five per cent above their initially predicted yield, with no fall-off. Commissioned by the Danish Government and the United Nations as examples of future zero-emission street lighting for the COP 15 Conference on Climate Change which was held there in December 2009,
  • February 16, 2024
    Cycling data suggests rise in bike use in European cities
    New figures from France, Italy and the UK demonstrate uptick in active travel