Solar Roadways

[r]

Re: Solar Roadways

There's also the problem that roads are dirty. Skid marks and what not and where's your solar roadway now?

[Afrobean]

Re: Solar Roadways

There's also the problem that roads are dirty. Skid marks and what not and where's your solar roadway now?

still producing more electricity than the current roadways?

[Izzy]

Re: Solar Roadways

still producing more electricity than the current roadways?

and costing a million times more than current roadways.

[choof]

Re: Solar Roadways

tbh i think the whole "money" cop-out is bullshit considering trillions in debt etc.

lol

[hi19hi19]

Re: Solar Roadways

I think we're confusing "producing some benefit" for "benefit that's actually worth the astronomical initial investment and high maintenance costs"

[Izzy]

Re: Solar Roadways

It seems more worthwhile to just put solar panels everywhere. Why do they need to be on the roads? The gimmicks such as putting lights on the road aren't worth it at all.

[benguino]

Re: Solar Roadways

I think one of the other gimmicks that was mentioned was the ability to have the solar roadways maintain a temperature just above freezing which would permanently get rid of the problems caused by icy roads.

EDIT: Not to mention I think such an infrastructure would pave the way for "smart roads" in the future, whatever that means.

[top]

Re: Solar Roadways

safer, smarter, environmentally friendly, produces monetary gain in the future, no more bitchin about not enough electricity

seriously wtf isn't to love about this? if youre against this i simply don't understand why.

the ROAD is the light source to see at night!!! that's so baller~

[hi19hi19]

Re: Solar Roadways

It seems more worthwhile to just put solar panels everywhere. Why do they need to be on the roads? The gimmicks such as putting lights on the road aren't worth it at all.

People seem to think that since roads are, by their nature, already flat and dark, they'd be a good place.
Besides, they serve no other purpose besides carrying vehicles at the moment, as opposed to other places you might put solar panels (say, in the middle of a big field) that could be used for other things (such as raising livestock).

Not sure that's a hugely compelling argument, but I'd guess that's the thinking.

[top]

Re: Solar Roadways

It seems more worthwhile to just put solar panels everywhere. Why do they need to be on the roads? The gimmicks such as putting lights on the road aren't worth it at all.

roads take up a massive chunk of space, why NOT put solar panels there? couldn't hurt anything, especially considering they can handle the weight of vehicles etc.

[Afrobean]

Re: Solar Roadways

I think we're confusing "producing some benefit" for "benefit that's actually worth the astronomical initial investment and high maintenance costs"

Solar farms, coal burning plants, nuclear, and wind turbines all also cost a lot of initial investment and have high maintenance costs.

Maybe we should just not generate any electricity at all.

These are not just expensive roads. These are expensive roads that could displace the entire energy model in place and replace it with something good, useful, and significantly less damaging to the environment. Oh, and they would be safer, more versatile, and never need to be plowed or salted. Do you understand how HUGE that is?

and costing a million times more than current roadways.

and the projections indicate that overall the US would generate 3x enough electricity for the entire country if every road was converted

You don't think that they would account for general use wear when considering that?

Even if it only produced a fraction of our electricity needs, it'd still be worth it for EVERY OTHER REASON though.

[noname219]

Re: Solar Roadways

Every product needs to be tested thoroughly before being mass produced. Even if technology evolves fast, I don't think I'll see it on the highways before maybe 2020. For now, it's a prototype. How will it endure the more extreme temperatures in winter (freeze-thaw) is another story. Initial cost and maintenance is something that needs to be considered before mass producing these things. Small-scale testing to see how it will react in real life seems like the next step to me. Looks promising, but we'll have to be patient on such large scale projects.

edit : found the cost to cover solar panels on all paved roads in the US... $56 trillions (revenue for 2015 US federal budget is $3.34 trillion btw)

[Afrobean]

Re: Solar Roadways

Small-scale testing to see how it will react in real life seems like the next step to me.

This has been in development since 2006.

They've already been working on that "next step" for quite some time.

edit: the roads wouldn't all be converted overnight, don't be stupid. They generate revenue, so they'd pay for themselves OVER TIME.

[Kekeb]

Re: Solar Roadways

From what I've been presented, this seems like an awful idea. We would have to clean and/or replace panels consistently due to debris cover and abrasions (the panels are protected by glass). Foliage and large buildings along routes would reduce effectiveness due to masking sunlight. The most ridiculous thing that strikes me is the fixed nature of the panels. They obviously can't tilt and rotate during the day, so they'll be inefficiently converting energy essentially 100% of the time.

My point is you could likely setup some solar farms and get a better ROI. Nobody is going to touch this if they have any sense.

[Afrobean]

Re: Solar Roadways

so they'll be inefficiently converting energy essentially 100% of the time.

Even if they only work at 1% efficiency, they'd still generate WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more electricity than the current ones.