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Introducing The World's First Solar-Panel-Covered Road

Introducing The World's First Solar-Panel-Covered Road

PARIS: French civil engineering firm Colas has launched the world's first "photovoltaic roads," capable of withstanding the weight of cars and bicycles and producing electricity by exposure to sunlight.

Known as "Wattway," the concept could revolutionize solar energy production. Colas says that covering just 2.5% of France's road and highway network would be enough to supply 10% of the country's energy needs, French business daily Les Echos reports.

The work is the result of five years of research with the French National Institute for Solar Energy and will be available on the market beginning in January.

Hervé Le Bouc, CEO of Colas, told theLes Echos that authorities will not need to replace already existing infrastructures, seeing as the procedure consists of a simple road surfacing. Panels composed of 15 centimeter-long photovoltaic cells are installed on roads or car parks and covered with a resin substrate that can withstand any type of circulation, even heavy trucks. They are also designed to be resistant to skidding.

The photovoltaic roads are designed to send the collected energy to the country's national electricity network ERDF or directly to homes. About 20 square meters of the equipment can provide sufficient energy for one household (not including heating); 15 square meters can supply the traffic lights of one intersection and one kilometer can provide light to a city of 5,000 residents. Wattway can also be used for public lighting, illuminated billposting or electric cars.

Colas first plans on equipping supermarket car parks or limited road sections with its panels,"to discover the product," Le Bouc says. "Within four years, once we reach our cruising speed, we'll be able to equip several kilometer-long sections."�

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The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

The U.S. legal system cannot simply run its course in a vacuum. Presidential politics, and democracy itself, are at stake in the coming weeks and months.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

File photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Clyde, Ohio, in 2020.

Emma Shortis*

-Analysis-

Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the beginning of his career in New York real estate.

But until now, the potential consequences of such a cataclysmic development in American politics have been purely theoretical.

Today, after much build-up in the media, The New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Trump and the Manhattan district attorney will now likely attempt to negotiate Trump’s surrender.

The indictment stems from a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office into “hush money” payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels (through Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen), and whether they contravened electoral laws.

Trump also faces a swathe of other criminal investigations and civil suits, some of which may also result in state or federal charges. As he pursues another run for the presidency, Trump could simultaneously be dealing with multiple criminal cases and all the court appearances and frenzied media attention that will come with that.

These investigations and possible charges won’t prevent Trump from running or even serving as president again (though, as with everything in the U.S. legal system, it’s complicated).

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