It Starts with Ambition

Solar Roadways is an American project with a very ambitious idea: replace every road, pavement and parking lot in the country with solar panels.

The Concept

The Solar Roadways panels are hexagonal, toughened glass tiles that can be driven over. Each tile contains solar cells underneath the glass surface. They also have LED lights for road markings and heating elements to melt snow and ice.

The potential electricity generation from replacing all US roads with these panels? Enough to power the entire country three times over.

Why It Has Gone Viral

The Solar Roadways Indiegogo campaign raised over $2 million from more than 47,000 backers. The promotional video has been viewed millions of times.

People are inspired by big ambition. The project may be years or decades away from reality at scale, but it captures the imagination in a way that incremental improvements never can.

The Lesson for Green Boating

What excites people is not "slightly less polluting diesel engine." What excites people is "zero emission, solar powered, fully electric vessel."

Ambition drives attention, which drives funding, which drives innovation.

The green boating movement needs its own Solar Roadways moment — a project so bold and visionary that it captures the public imagination and accelerates the whole field.

Start with Ambition

Whether it is a fully solar-powered marina, a solar-electric ferry network, or an electric boat that outperforms everything with a fossil fuel engine — start with the ambitious vision, and work backwards to the practical steps.

It starts with ambition.