World’s First Energy-Generating Street Hits London
In a world where green energy is making an impact in today’s society, (due to issues/topics like global warming, pollution, conservation, healthy living, etc.) it’s not surprising that we finally can see the world’s first energy-generating street debut in the 21st century.
The world’s first energy-generating “smart street” is now in London on Bird Street, thanks to the clean-tech company, Pavegen. Bird Street is located just off of Oxford, a busy shopping street in London, and one of the busiest in the world.
Pavegen’s innovation consists of a 107 square foot “pavement” with an implanted transmitter and generator. When pedestrians walk on this energy-generating street, their footsteps will create electricity for lighting and background bird sounds along Bird Street (hence the name).
Fun fact: one person walking continuously on one array of Pavegen can generate 5 watts of energy.
How does this work? The vibration from footsteps of those walking on this energy-generating street creates kinetic energy which can be converted into electrical power. Simple as that! The implanted transmitters that are also in the flooring system allow for data analytics for an assortment of things.
This isn’t Pavegen’s first rodeo. The company has implemented their technology in over 150 projects around the world since their inception in 2009, including areas that are impacting the lives of people in developing countries:
- A tiled area in an airport terminal in London (Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3)
- A 200-tile soccer field in a poverty-stricken area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stored energy at night when the sun goes down is able to power the floodlights for children to use the field.
- A 100-tile football field, also powered by solar energy, at the Federal College of Education in Lagos, Nigeria.
- A 68-tile walkway in Sandton City Mall in South Africa, able to provide stored power for a technology classroom in Sunrise Secondary School in Diepsloot, a local village.
- A 14-tile walkway at a train station in Northern France (St. Omer Station), able to light up LEDs under the benches and provide electricity for USB charging stations.
- An 8-tile install in a U.S. school (Bloomington School in Indiana), able to power educational boards and a phone charging station.
- A 240 square foot installation on the sidewalk of the Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.
The list goes on…and now with an actual “street”, Pavegen is leading the way for providing a clean energy source with just a few steps of our feet. How cool is that?