A solar panel road is pictured on December 22, 2016, following its inauguration in Tourouvre, Normandy, northwestern France. 
The world's first solar road was inaugurated on Thursday in Normandy, a technology the minister hopes will develop in France and abroad despite criticism of its high cost and profitability. / AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU        (Photo credit should read CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images)