The 150-MW (dc) Aurora utility-scale distributed solar PV project in Minnesota, once finished, will be the largest solar power plant in North America. “The Aurora project marks a significant step forward in the growth of our solar portfolio,” said Timothy Wallace, Head of Expansion department. “By maximizing the distributed solar model…

By accepting the progressive renewable energy industry, the government planned few new highways across the Britain to be equipped with built-in solar panels. That plan started with a cooperation with an enthusiastic UK family, the Internet, and a crowdfunding…

The futuristic Solar Highways project will, of course, be powered by the sunlight energy. But the transformation from a family company’s environmentalist dream to a mainstream reality was made possible only with the popular support and people’s power.

The technology is a long-term brainchild of Scott and Julie Templeton, who have almost tripled their initial goal of getting £1 million through crowdfunding site Indiegogo.

It was a necessity, in order to take the project to the next level and to build a prototype car park.

With social media support from celebrities such as George Takei, Solar Highways’ technology takes a place of the standard asphalt roads and parking spaces with innovative and energy-efficient high-tech solar panels that generate power, miscellaneous lighting patterns and can melt the winter snow and slippery ice off the roads.

There’s still 14 days of the fundraising campaign to go but the last count was £2,975,577, way ahead of their initial target.

The support isn’t just financial, as their Indiegogo site and related educational videos on an environmental cause went viral and attracted about 25 million views on YouTube!

The husband and wife are originally a pair of designers from Midlands, in the UK say their trademark panels would pay for themselves over time and provide clean, eco-friendly and renewable green energy.

They say that the glass used in the modular pavers that shield the solar panels can stand the weight of the heaviest of trucks (think 250,000 pounds).

Also, they say, that it wouldn’t just be suitable for roads – their dream is to see them on any surface we drive or walk on, from footpaths and driveways to playgrounds.