I was looking at the vid last night
theyve had a few rounds of govt funding and are now crowd funding with over a million raised
Im not entirely sure in the first instance mainstream roads should be the targeted installs but open air carparks and private roads of a lesser scale
beyond that I find myself thinking roadways with millions of private vehicle are unlikely to be the future
mass transport systems seems to me to be the next step
of course if a single truth can be drawn from the solar roadway, its that built environments should be using materials that are multipurpose
" ...
1. You can’t point the roadway to track the sun, to improve energy generation efficiency (which is only about 15% for photovoltaics, anyway, which makes PV generation expensive on a large scale).
2. Why embed solar panels in such a harsh environment where they are constantly being run over and flexed by millions of tons of vehicles? There are many more practical locations to use (such as roofs, that face southward).
3. How do you keep the solar collectors clean (as millions of tires scrub over them, and engines drip oil on them) so that sunlight can get collected by the embedded PV surfaces?
4. Who is going to actually PAY for such an obscenely expensive enterprise (other than government, which means you, the taxpayer)? ... "
Are they hailstone proof , what happens if a F5 tornado grinds over it ?
Where are the storage Batterys kept?
Good idea. Like you, all should have the same idea. Then only we can develop our society and nation. These are misused also as they are not turned off at daytime.
expense for too little return
>This is a renewable resource that would lead to sustainability and end fossil fuel dependence.
There are a lot of buzzwords in there, but it is not clear that any of it is true. Solar energy is renewable to an extent, but if you are actually putting them in the road, then I imagine you are going to see lots of wear that will have to be replaced, and the panels themselves are not renewable. If they are being placed in medians that is another matter.
Ending fossil fuel dependence based on solar panels on roadways is something that needs to be established with evidence.
The cost would be exorbitant. The solar panels are really not made for the weight of trucks going over them, and I can't imagine the all of the problems caused if their were an accident. The first thing that should be done is solar panels on roofs. First, it would quickly get the energy where it is needed while reducing the energy comsumption from things like coal, Second it would be more reflective and not soak up as much heat as the typical roof.
Linlyon's idea of white roads is good, but I am not sure it will have that much of an effect.
Linlyons,
I am OK with many solutions. What I do not like is the non-solution of taxation. I also do not like the scare-mongering by the media. Otherwise, you could not do pure white as it would blind the drivers during sunny days. Also, you would not want to paint the roads, as the abuse they would take, would wear of fthe paint quickly. The preferable solution would be to use a lighter color binding agent to replace asphalt. This would then beg the question of how quickly the tires would darken whatever you use.
Great idea.
But would it work?
If you needed to stop, would your tires stick to the road?
Typically black exhaust coats road surfaces. That would make them less effective.
Rocks and stuff fall off trucks and cars. Would that damage the surface?
How much would initial installation and ongoing maintenance cost?
Maybe some place with less wear would be better?
My thought would be to make all roads white.
That way, at night everything would be easier to see.
And white would reflect solar energy, reducing global warming.
hhhm
This is a renewable resource that would lead to sustainability and end fossil fuel dependence. Why not go all in?
