A ‘bridge’ for insects

You might have seen a wildlife bridge before that allows animals to cross a road, but did you know that insects also have trouble crossing roads safely?

The A67 motorway in The Netherlands divides the nature reserve Strabrechtse Heide in a wet and a dry area. Butterflies such as the endangered Alcon Blue (Dutch: Gentiaanblauwtje) need to migrate temporarily to the dry area in order to reproduce. However, the traffic on the motorway causes air currents and vortexes that are deadly to them. Research shows that many insects only dare to cross the motorway when there is a traffic jam and the air is still. The designed web would reduce the disruptive air currents and allow insects to fly across the road safely.

Solar panels above the highway

Although the web was designed for the A67 motorway as a proposal for the Our Energy our Landscape design challenge, the design could be replicated and used above any highway in the world. The ultra-light web can be stretched over highways using a steel construction. The web itself would be made of PET-film and has a honeycomb structure. The idea is to fill the empty hexagonal spaces in the honeycomb structure with solar panels. But this would be quite a challenge with conventional solar panels, as a conventional panel approximately weighs 22.5 kilograms per square meter. A safer option are thin film solar cells based on the mineral perovskites. These weigh only 700 grams per square meter. Although they have a lower efficiency than conventional solar cells (7 to 8 percent versus an average of 21 percent), they can still produce significant amounts of sustainable energy.

These solar cells are currently still produced in small quantities, but it is expected that this will change in the coming years. According to Solarix, the Butterfly effect would produce over 17 million kilowatt hours of solar energy per year with these type of solar panels used. ‘‘This is equivalent to the annual energy demand of 5,775 households and results in a CO2 reduction of 11 kilotons per year’’.

Less pollution and more vegetation

Next to stimulating biodiversity and producing energy, the web can also contribute to decreasing pollution as the nitrogen and particulates by traffic would be released closer to the motorway. This would fertilise the soil next to the motorway and encourage tree and vegetation growth, leading to a quieter motorway with noise reduced by dense forest.

The Butterfly Effect has not been implemented yet but the designers are currently looking for a partner to complete a first pilot project.

Sources:

• Dezeen

• Vanaf hier

• VenhoevenCS

• DS landschapsarchitecten