Pavement, it turns out, is a pretty good place to look for free energy.

A handful of Massachusetts researchers on Monday published a paper detailing a technique for using water-carrying pipes to convert the built-up heat in asphalt roads into usable energy.

Released at the International Symposium on Asphalt Pavements and Environment in Zurich, Switzerland, the paper argues that asphalt roads have a number of advantages over solar-electric panels as a source of distributed energy.

For further information: CNET