In December 2016, France unveiled a one-kilometer stretch of road in Tourouvre-au-Perche, in the Orne department, that was designed to generate electricity. This road was covered with flat solar panels, shaped like tiles and glued directly to the asphalt. The project, developed by the company Wattway (a subsidiary of Colas), was intended to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating solar power into road infrastructure. However, the flat installation posed a significant challenge: unlike traditional solar panels that are tilted at 30–35 degrees to capture sunlight more efficiently, these road panels received light at a much flatter angle, reducing their energy production potential. The road was expected to generate 642 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity annually, enough to power public lighting for a city of 5,000 people. In reality, it produced only 229 MWh—less than a third of the projected output. The cost was also far higher than conventional solar technologies, with each watt of power costing 17.8 euros, compared to between 0.7 and 1 euro per watt for ground-mounted solar panels. Heavy traffic further damaged the tiles, which were supposed to withstand 40 tons of pressure. The repeated passage of trucks led to the imposition of a 70 km/h speed limit to reduce wear and tear, but the damage was already done. Despite the high expectations, the project was deemed a failure in energy production by the Orne Department three years after its inauguration. In February 2024, the local government announced the road’s demolition, which began in early May and was expected to be completed by mid-June. The mayor of Tourouvre-au-Perche, Franck Poirier, assured residents that the project did not cost the commune any money and that the dismantling was being handled by the company that built it. While the road experiment in Tourouvre was not successful, the concept of solar tiles has found new applications in less demanding environments, such as cycling paths, parking lots, and sidewalks. For instance, in Seine-Saint-Denis, a 50 m² solar cycling path was built along the Ourcq canal to power street lighting, as conventional panels could not be installed due to space constraints. The idea of generating electricity on existing surfaces continues to attract local authorities, as it avoids using land that could otherwise be used for agriculture or housing. Although the Tourouvre project faced challenges, the lessons learned are helping to refine the technology for more practical uses.