THE SOLAR HIGHWAY PROJECT IN THE SPIRIT OF PERMACULTURE

We’re certainly not going to create yet another introductory course on permaculture. There are already more than enough of them, offering insights that are as varied as they are insightful.

For those interested, here is a video

and another

Permaculture and Solar Highway? What’s the connection?

Everything, in fact!!

Watching the three videos in this article will allow even the most uninitiated (which I was before taking part in this major project) to instantly grasp the close links between the two.

Permaculture goes far beyond simply growing vegetables or raising animals... It is a way of life that must be implemented on a massive scale across humanity if we are to live in a healthy and natural environment.

The Solar Highway incorporates these principles of complementary, logical and natural solutions to be much more than simply the most efficient ‘energy plant’ in existence...

The future will be what we want it to be; let us give ourselves the means to achieve it, for the solutions exist.

Alain Farrugia

No, we simply wish to demonstrate to you, by drawing parallels between the basic principles of permaculture and the most essential elements of the Solar Highway Project, that the spirit of one has indeed permeated the other.

When, as a layman, you ask a permaculture practitioner about it, they will likely reply that permaculture consists of:

• caring for the earth,
• caring for oneself (or people),
• sharing

They will then no doubt go on to explain that it is important to:

• working with nature rather than against it,
• to mix species (no monoculture!),
• and finally that one must observe, observe and observe again

We believe we can demonstrate that the Solar Highway Project does indeed fit the mould of permaculture, whose concepts, incidentally, apply to a multitude of fields other than agriculture.

Since we are discussing the Solar Highway Project, we shall take the liberty of presenting the six points above in an order that facilitates a broader understanding; for, as we have stated from the outset of this series, the ‘solar highway’ is by no means limited to simply placing solar panels above the motorway (which would indeed be rather irrational).

Observe, observe, and observe again

The best I can do here is to tell you a little about the history of the project.

During the summer holidays of 2009, we were out and about in the Luberon with my family and, during a conversation, I explained my desire to return to a role that would allow me to make the most of my engineering skills, that I had my sights set on photovoltaics, but that there were already too many people doing the same thing and that if it meant being just another face in the crowd, it certainly wasn’t worth it.

My wife, a biologist, then suggested that we should imitate nature, as it represented the optimum achieved after millions of years of evolution, and that we should therefore create solar trees.

Yes, but the thing is, nature has chlorophyll (in the meantime, its mode of operation, particularly its quantum aspects, has been explained by science, and we know its efficiency is close to 100%—incomparable with the silicon cells in the photovoltaic sector, which are around 20%). As we approached the market where we intended to do our shopping before heading home, the discussion centred on this very question. It was then that I parked in front of what should have been a fine, shade-giving tree, but which had remained a puny sapling following a dispute between the recently renovated market in question and the local council over the layout of the car park.

At first, I smiled, then I took a closer look: this tree had something to tell me. Inspiration sprang from this observation: if we wanted to take photovoltaics further, we needed to give it one, or even several, other functions, just as nature does.

Subsequently, several of the significant advances we have made stem from that famous initial observation, which is so important in permaculture. And it won’t stop there; we know we can still add several functions to strengthen the whole, which will come in due course.

Combining species

Video to support our point 

Let’s discuss this at random: the structure has a slope (which varies depending on the intended purpose); this will create an effect of accelerating the wind towards the downstream side (for purists, see the Bernoulli effect on Wikipedia). All that is then ‘needed’ is to position a wind turbine judiciously within the relevant space to capture the energy thus concentrated (note: the wind turbine and its judicious placement have been deliberately omitted from this diagram for intellectual property reasons).

This effect is, of course, dependent on the initial wind conditions, but, depending on the location and orientation of the structure, one can expect to triple the total amount of energy compared to photovoltaic power alone. Furthermore, as wind power generates energy at times significantly different from those of photovoltaics, this helps to smooth out the energy curve and reduces the need for storage or other means of compensating for insufficient production at any given time.

We can therefore see that wind power and photovoltaics reinforce each other in exactly the same way that combining different plants (chosen wisely, of course) brings benefits to both.

Working with nature rather than against it

The function of the Solar Highway we are going to discuss here does not apply to all regions of the world, but it is very representative of the logic behind the concept.

Rain, especially heavy rain, poses a real problem for a road. If water accumulates on the surface, aquaplaning will soon set in, with all its unfortunate consequences. The road surface must therefore allow the water to pass through whilst ensuring that it can continue its course without damaging the foundation (risk of erosion).

For a conventional motorway, rain is a risk, if not an enemy.

The Solar Highway, on the other hand, collects rainwater and channels it to a designated location, where it can be stored and retained for future use (agricultural, etc.). This same rain will act as a natural cleaner for the solar panels, thereby protecting the efficiency of the solar modules.

For the Solar Highway, rain represents an opportunity and additional potential for value creation.

Caring for the Earth

Admittedly, we are not talking directly about the earth here, as we are above the motorway, but the Solar Highway Project makes a useful contribution to the Earth here too.

In winter, in mid-latitudes, protecting the road surface from snowfall will reduce the need for winter maintenance, particularly the spreading of salt, which will therefore not end up in the environment. The installations will also be spared from corrosion and will see their lifespan extended.

Conversely, in summer, particularly between the tropics and the equator, shading the road surface will prevent it from becoming too hot. To the general public, this may seem trivial, but it turns out that, in reality, wear and tear on the road surface is even greater during periods of extreme heat.

By extending the lifespan of the road surface, the Solar Highway Project avoids the consumption of embodied energy and a multitude of chemicals used when resurfacing the asphalt.

In permaculture, we advocate mulching the soil to keep it alive and limit watering. The Solar Highway Project performs a very similar function through the shade it provides on the motorway.

Taking care of oneself (or of people)

We could, of course, focus on the importance of being able to produce significant amounts of completely green energy, and describe the positive impact on us all, but we are going to mention another aspect, namely noise reduction.

Making a few adjustments to our design has reduced the noise generated by the motorway for the neighbourhood by between -5 and -8 dB. As the dB scale is logarithmic, this result is very significant. It broadly corresponds to a fourfold reduction in perceived noise. And it can therefore make a big difference between having to sleep with the window closed or being able to open it.

Share

The Solar Highway Project team is unanimous: the public must be able to participate in the project and benefit from its outcomes just as much as institutional investors.

Consequently, even if one of the ‘major players’ with whom we are negotiating for the funding of the Fully demonstrator makes a decision beforehand, it has been decided that the crowdfunding campaign will be set up and carried out in any case.

On this subject, we would like to remind you that if you wish to be informed of the launch of this crowdfunding campaign, you can sign up here: EnergyPier.ch

And to answer a frequently asked question: we do not share your email addresses with anyone!

The next article will introduce the sustainability concepts behind the Solar Highway Project and will aim to demonstrate that it fits seamlessly into the circular economy model.

The series of articles on our Solar Highway Project is now organised as follows:

• Introduction to the series here,
• Links to blockchain here,
• Crowdfunding and the solar highway here,
• Permaculture of solar panels (you’re here),
• Solar highway and sustainability,
• and more to follow …

Laurent-David JOSPIN and the whole Solar Highway Project team

Source: Ouvrir les Yeux