Title: MHT: Generating power with hot pavement

" Okay -- is on my lawn of the students don't -- Road test for a new alternative energy source is heating up at an act and based semiconductor materials company -- attack. Along with some Massachusetts professors are trying to generate power using hot pavement Boston business journal reporter -- now let. Is now also contributing to mass high tech and she joins us with more on the story Jackie good to see you could see that so tell us a little bit more about this idea and where -- and these scientists are at their efforts."

" Well it's a relatively simple concept will. You may not realize that this summer because it's been so while cool but I'm hot summer today that he -- conduct retains a lot of heat. And it gets hot and what this group of scientists and a company known attack is trying to dinner with. They're trying to I used pipes and water to draw the heat a way from the pavement. And use that hot water in a number of applications from. Hot water her building to special types of refrigeration units. That can not cool buildings even actually generating some electricity. And they've done some pilot tasks and small spaces feasibility studies and if they get some grant money from the federal government -- looking to do a large scale parking lot and Arizona. So if this proposal winds funding and if this technology actually works what are the possibilities here. You know parking lot seem to be the best possibility because it's. They're not all used even a full parking lot is about two thirds of space that's open that can be used to generate heat. And it's going to we will likely used in southern climates in the southwest and the south not only because it's hotter down there but it's hotter for a lot longer period of time. Which means you can generate a lot more high energy act of patent. There are some technical challenges and drawing energy out of asphalt there is asphalt it collects -- very easily but it's hard to get back. Heat away so they're trying to number of systems the most out. Promising. Is very similar to in some houses are radiant floor were heating systems. Where you lay up a network of pipes underneath the material in this case asphalt and those pipes will draw the heat from pavement and then distribute it to whatever generator use."

" One of these scientists that you talked to I believe the one that's been thinking about this idea for a long long time says. This could really be a win away and -- at the environmental impact of hot pavement to surrounding areas and how that could be mitigated."

" That's true. Hot pavement creates what's called an urban heat island you know when you come into. The major cities and New England in the summertime it's much hotter than it is outside that's because that pavement retains heat and then when it's. Cold out at night -- cooler credit -- it radiates heat back out and so if you can take that heat out and use it to generate some kind of energy. It's cooler and those buildings have to be -- a lot last also hot pavement tends to buckle and break down a lot sooner. Then cool pavement so it actually accents like the patent."

" Interesting story -- now what thanks for joining us thank you -- article is titled road test you can read it in the latest edition of mass high tech. The journal of New England technology."