Panels covered with photovoltaic cells. (Image by Björn Appel.)

Swedish architect and urban planner Mans Tham has a great idea for the Los Angeles freeways, but it really should apply to highways and building rooftops in every metropolitan area. Tham has proposed that L.A. incorporate photovoltaic cells (or solar cells) into its freeways in order to turn them into urban power plants. From a story on Autosinthenews:

“In an effort to make freeways more attractive and functional, Tham would like to see Los Angeles’ famed highways covered in photovoltaic cells to power the very city the freeway bisects.

Aside from providing extra electricity to cities throughout the region, the proposal could ‘bring green-tech jobs for farming, harvesting and processing to the very neighborhoods that today are the most disadvantaged by their proximity to the freeway.’

Tham estimates that if the Santa Monica Freeway was covered with solar panels between downtown L.A. and the coastline, it could provide 115 MW — enough electricity to power the needs of a city like Venice, California.

‘The possibility of producing energy within the city is much better than ruining a desert for a solar farm and then losing energy on expensive transmission lines,’ said Tham. ‘By letting infrastructure be a visually powerful part of the city, inside and out, its citizens are allowed to understand and cherish the complexity of their daily urban life.’”