Solar Roadways traveling toward another $100K grant

SAGLE — Scott and Julie Brusaw could be traveling on Solar Roadways toward another $100,000 grant from General Electric.

After awarding them the $50,000 popular vote prize for their Solar Roadways concept, an alternative surface for roads that can generate a solar power grid, the GE Ecomagination Challenge invited the inventors and Sagle residents for surprise second round of voting, this time focused on producing clean energy for the home.

“We actually didn’t know that they were going to do this,” Scott Brusaw said. “But we submitted our idea for a home version of Solar Roadways, and it currently is number one both in votes and comments.”

The original solar road concept placed solar cells and a computerized panel of LEDs between sheets of steel-strong, high-friction glass. With panels installed over the roads and highways, they could provide drivers with traffic markers and emergency warnings, melt away snow and ice, house Internet and phone lines and of course, generate clean, renewable energy. In fact, Brusaw estimates that if Solar Roadways replaced asphalt and concrete as America’s primary transportation surface, the network would produce enough energy to power the nation three times over.

But for this second round of voting, Brusaw modified the concept to focus on home applications. And examples aren’t difficult to imagine. The computerized LED lights could illuminate the home in the evening or help direct first-time visitors toward the residence. Kids could switch preprogrammed LED sequences to jump from hopscotch to four-square on the fly. The heating element would eliminate annoying snow-shoveling during the winter. Perhaps best of all, the household energy bill would be substantially reduced or even eliminated.

That revised concept has won the Brusaws an early lead in the second phase of the Ecomagination Challenge, which runs from Jan. 18 to March 1. After the voting ends, GE will select a handful of the most popular, fully-realized ideas for a $100,000 development grant. They’ve also selected Brusaw as one of eighteen moderators from around the world to choose their own favorite concepts from the idea submissions and encourage discussion.

“We’ve enjoyed seeing people’s reactions online,” Brusaw said.

The Brusaws have also been invited to apply for phase two funding from the Federal Highway Administration, an upgrade from the $100,000 they received to develop their prototype. The two-year grant would provide Solar Roadways with $750,000 to construct their first all-season test strip.

“Right now, progress is moving too slowly,” Brusaw said. “We’re in the application phase, running around, taking conference calls, crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s. I’m looking forward to getting back into the building phase.”

To support the Brusaws in the Ecomagination Challenge, visit http://challenge.ecomagination.com/home/Solar-Roadway-Home-Application and vote for them.