A cutting-edge solar-panelled highway has been targeted by thieves less than two weeks after it launched in China.
The innovative stretch cost £1.9million to build and is around 1.2 miles long on the Jinan City Expressway Shandong, East China.
It is covered with more than 10,000 solar panels, provides power for the city and comes with coils that can charge up electric cars when motorists drive over them.
A cutting-edge solar-panelled highway has been targeted by thieves less than two weeks after it launched in Shandong, China
The system can also make conditions on the roads safer by warming up to melt snow and ice.
During an inspection on January 2, a section of the highway, around six feet long and six inches wide, was discovered to be missing.
The piece was removed by a professional team, according to Qilu Evening News.
Workers have have since repaired the panels and the road has reopened to the public.
The highway was built by Qilu Transportation Development Group, a state-owned transport infrastructure company.
In September, the group completed China’s first solar road, also in Jinan, after 10 months of construction.
The innovative stretch is around 1.2 miles long and has been built on the Jinan City Expressway Shandong, East China.
The highway is covered with more than 10,000 solar panels, provides power for the city and comes with coils that can charge up electric cars when motorists drive over them
The road is fitted with 7,104 sq ft of photovoltaic panels and has been connected to the power grid.
Last December, France unveiled the world’s first solar panel road in the small Normandy village of Tourouvre-au-Perche.
The 0.6-mile stretch is paved with 2,880 photovoltaic panels, covering an area of 9,186 sq ft.
The road is expected to produce 280 MWh of electricity a year – enough to power the village’s street lights.