Finland plans to build the first green highway
Finland has recently unveiled the plan to build the world’s first “green highway”, which would be endowed with electric charge stations and pumps filled with local biofuels. In charge of the project is the town of Loviisa, at the east of Helsinki.
The highway, intended to be carbon neutral, thanks to these facilities would hopefully stimulate the adoption of next-gen auto technologies. Moreover, it would serve as a blueprint for other ecological highways across the world.
The green highway, completing a stretch of exiting highway, would link Turku, on the Finland’s southwestern coast with Vaalimaa near the Russian border, measuring almost 130 kilometers (81 miles).
Loviisa municipality also plans to involve the local economy, using ethanol production from waste and other local resources to make the biofuel and the electricity that would power both the cars and infrastructure along the way. Of course, there will be normal petrol stations on the highway for the rest of the cars.
The plan includes the installation of geothermal heat pumps and users may be provided with information about their emission levels and the impact they are having on the environment.
The environmental-friendly highway would include a “smart” lighting system along the way, automatically switching off the light at entry points where there are no cars and adjusting illumination levels depending on the weather and other factors.
Officials are drafting a study examining the project’s feasibility and cost. They hope to finish the study in March and believe the project could start in the second half of next year and be completed by 2016, at a cost of 700 million Euros (about $900 million). Finland is hoping to get the EU financial support, and Loviisa municipality official Aki Marjasvaara said that he expects large companies such as Fortum, Neste Oil and Ensto to help finance the project.
Though Wired, has defined the project as an ambitious idea, in blisstree.com users are asked to suggest further eco-friendly elements that could be incorporated into the highway. Other proposals come from popsci.com: what about solar and vibration harvesting road surfaces generating electricity for the grid, or self-sufficient solar-powered roadway lighting? Even if these technologies still need to be perfected to be launched in the market, the preparation works for this cutting-edge project could see research world and private industry combining their efforts and getting to innovative solutions.
Related articles
- timesofindia.indiatimes.com
- wired.com
- blisstree.com
- industryweek.com
- buildaroo.com
- inhabitat.com
- popsci.com
- greenoptimistic.com
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