Sustainable DC is experimenting with kinetically-powered pavers, where pedestrians create electricity as they walk along the road.
100 kinetic pavers scattered along the road will generate 456 kilowatts of energy a year, enough to light the new 850 square foot Connecticut Avenue Overlook Parklet, south of Dupont Circle.
At a cost of $200,000, it "will provide both a new park and an interesting new amenity in pedestrian-rich Dupont Circle that will showcase a fun, innovative way to generate renewable energy," says Sustainable DC. ZGF Architects, which is designing the park expects about 30,000 people to walk through daily.
The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District’s website will display real time updates on the energy generated.
Construction is scheduled for October.
Manufactured by Pavegen from recycled rubber, they instantly convert the kinetic energy of a footstep into electricity. Each paver is connected to a battery that stores energy via a single cable. The tiles have also been installed at Heathrow Airport and on London Bridge, at schools in England and New York, a train station in France, and London’s 2012 Olympics.
Eventually, the tiles are seen as a way to light up everything from subways to parts of the developing world that are off-grid.
Read our article, Washington DC Unveils Gamechanging Sustainable DC Plan.
Learn more:
Loading...