New solar-panelled pavement to be trialed in Barcelona

Barcelona’s Plaça de les Glòries square, located at the intersection of major roads Diagonal Avenue, Meridiana Avenue and Gran Via, is to be built with 50m2 of pavement capable of generating solar electricity. 

The energy will be directed into the general network which supplies electricity to the city and  is expected to generate about 7,560 kWh/year, equivalent to the total energy consumption of 3 homes and saving 2,722kg of CO2 per year.  

The project ‘Paviments generadors’ (‘Generating pavements’) was proposed by Barcelona’s town hall in search of a way to make use of the city’s paved areas in improving sustainability and has now been taken on by the Sorigué business group.  

At the presentation which took place at les Glòries on Wednesday morning, Laia Bonet, deputy mayor of the government’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Catalonia, said that if the 6-month trial goes well, it will be reproduced across other parts of the city. 

Joan Pons, innovation director for Sorigué, said that the pavement used is “easy to install and to maintain”, with an “anti-slip” finish to prevent people from falling over. 

With the development of pavements which can generate sustainable energy, the town hall states that it aims to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and make the city carbon-neutral by 2050. 

This initiative has come alongside many other ongoing efforts coming from the Barcelona town hall and council to make the city more sustainable. For example, at the end of March work began on major roads Pelai street and Meridiana avenue to reduce emissions as well as make the area more pedestrian friendly.