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WillyT (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 02:55 PMOriginal message Wow... Have You Guys Heard About Solar Roadways ??? To me, the idea is brilliant in that it solves several problems at one stroke. Instead of putting solar panels on thousands of square miles of wilderness or farmland or other land, why not take surfaces that are already paved and put them to work collecting solar energy, just in time for us to transition from oil to electric cars like the Chevy Volt? It also solves the issue of energy transmission loss rather nicely. One could use the roads to transmit energy from thousands of miles away, but why do that when the nearby roads, playgrounds and parking lots themselves can generate all the energy one needs without the losses inherent in long-distance transmission?
tekisui (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 02:58 PMResponse to Original message 1. What an ingenious idea. No need to paint and re-paint, just replace LEDs, which have a long life.
sandnsea (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 02:59 PMResponse to Original message 2. Now that is brilliant I concur with your (jaw drop)muriel_volestrangler (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 03:26 PMResponse to Reply #7 9. Thanks, that';s the page I was looking for I'm very surprised that US asphalt gets replaced on average once every 7 years - you'd think the roads would be a continuous set of road works if that's right. Does it sound accurate, to you?Also, as far as I can tell, this person is saying "wouldn't it be great if we had solar panels so tough that you can drive trucks over them for 21 years before they need replacing". Is there any sign they've actually worked out how to produce such a tough solar panel? Even in theory? WillyT (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 03:38 PMResponse to Reply #9 13. Closest I Got... What are you going to do about traction? Cars slip and slide on wet asphalt, let alone wet glass. What's going to happen to the surface of the Solar Roadways when it rains?...By the end of this trip, I had been thoroughly convinced that the glass specs that I had presented would not pose any problems.<snip>From their FAQs Page: http://solarroadways.com/faq.html And I LOVE this one:<snip>Is your company publicly traded? Are you looking for investors?No, we're not publicly traded. Like the Blues Brothers, we honestly feel that we're "on a mission from God". We feel that He has entrusted us with an enormous responsibility to make His world a better place. We have (or can hire) the technical expertise to make the Solar Roadways a reality. We now have government funding, but we're always open to a local angel investor who would like to become a part of this project and get his/her hands dirty. We're not interested in someone who's "in it for the money", but someone who sees the vision and, like us, wants to leave the world a better place than when we entered it.
drm604 (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 03:53 PMResponse to Original message 15. Interesting. I'm not qualified to judge how realistic the idea is but it's certainly interesting.Some (rhetorical) questions: Who do you pay your utility bill to? I assume that the roads will be surfaced and paid for by government, as always. So do you pay some governmental entity for the power you use? Is the power free beyond the taxes for construction and maintenance?I assume that the information providers (cable, internet, etc.) would pay to deliver their signals over the system. Who do they pay for that access. The government?Since the government pays for the system to begin with, it would make sense that they be the ones to charge for the power and communications capability, so this could bring a lot of money into their coffers.
LWolf (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 04:16 PMResponse to Original message 23. I'm intrigued by the possibilities. I'm also wondering how much electricity would be generated in high-traffic urban areas where roads and highways are parking lots. WillyT (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-20-10 04:19 PMResponse to Reply #23 24. I Guess It Would Depend On What Time Of Day They Become Parking Lots...
