The ongoing quest of using alternative energy sources for electricity has already made it through the design, architecture and engineering community. A lot of architectural and engineering designs nowadays are integrating the use of solar panelling and wind power in to the structure. The bridge above is one of those. Designed by Italian designers Francesco Colarossi, Giovanna Saracino and Luisa Saracino, this bridge promises to help power approximately 15,000 homes.
Named it as Solar Wind Bridge, it was an entry to the Solar Highway competition by the Solar Park Works asking the entrants to modernize sections of the decommissioned bridge between Bagnera and Scilla in Italy.
Replacing the 20km (12.4 miles) of asphalt road surface with solar cells coated with durable and dense plastic coating, the roadway will be able to produce around 11.2 million kwh of electricity per year. Then using the space underneath the bridge and installing 26 wind turbines will add another 36 million kwh per year. The total energy produced will approximately help power 15,000 homes in the area.
This entry was awarded the second prize and it has all the right and amazing reasons to be one of the top. Let's hope we see this bridge or any variants of it in the near future.
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Very interesting and innovative!