What if every road in America Generated Electric Power?

[zebonaut]

[longship]

1. If it snows, that won't work.

The first snow plow would take them right out. Also, how is that going to be tough enough to take the beating that concrete or asphalt takes with any kind of traffic. Traffic that would block the freaking sun!

It would be a maintenance nightmare. It's an extraordinarily bad idea.

[Fred Sanders]

2. Have to agree. Looks pretty, but endurance factor and cost of replacement and maintenance.....

[Zipgun]

13. Even if it only ends up living to a fraction of its potential, it's worth pursuing.

And they are asking for a ridiculous small amount of money compared to what the government gives big oil. Even if it only ends up being useful in niche areas, ever little bit helps. There may be spin off applications that make it more viable.

[BlueStreak]

3. I am really trying to love this idea.

I love the passion these folks have put into it. And maybe there are some applications that make sense, such as airport runways. I could see some real benefits from being able to show messages in the runway as pilots are making the final approach.

The road project that really needs to take hold is electrified roadways. Tesla is out there with a ridiculous vehicle that has 7000 toothbrush batteries in a 1200# carrier just so they can claim to be able to travel cross-country (the next 100+ miles to another charging station.)

That is absolutely absurd as a transportation proposition and results in a vehicle only the wealthiest people can afford. A much better idea is to develop inductive charging systems and integrate them into stretches of the Interstate highway system. If enough of the roadway was electrified, then a car would only need battery range of, say 50 miles, and could charge as it was driving down the road.

Systems like this are already being deployed along bus routs to allow buses to take on a charge as they stop for passengers. It is not a radical idea. Fundamentally it is no different from the electric trolley systems of old. It would be expensive, but that would transform long distance travel. This is the only way that Class-8 trucks are ever going to be able to move off fossil fuels, for example.

[longship]

5. Sounds like an electric railroad.

Actually that is a better idea. But I live in snow country, and again, the roads here take an awful damned beating every winter. I just do not see that as being very practical either.

The way to do it is to put current into the pavement in such a way that the motion of the vehicle induces a current. But there'd be a helluva traffic jam if the power went off.

[BlueStreak]

17. No perpetual motion machines here

For those who are interested, here are some articles. This is happening. It is real. It is not far-fetched, but a national commitment would be expensive.

I envision special charging lanes ever 10-15 miles. If you drive an EV, you would use those lanes and be charged for the service the same way we charge for toll roads.

http://www.wired.com/2013/08/induction-charged-buses/

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/in-depth/the-big-story/unplugged-inductive-charging-on-the-road/1006269.article

http://www.dvice.com/archives/2010/11/inductive-roads.php

[iamthebandfanman]

8. So you dont think there

is any where in north America that would be climate suitable?

[longship]

10. The climate isn't the problem.

The idea is just not very practical.

Yup! It's clever. But how often will you have to repair the damned things with semi-trailers riding on top of it. And car wrecks. And people spinning their wheels. And rain. And whatever else nature throws at it.

Plus, the fucking vehicles cover the solar panels! Why don't you just put the solar panels where there are no vehicles? I'll bet it would be cheaper, and more maintainable. Plus you wouldn't have overweight semi-trailers breaking your damned solar panels.

It just seems like one of those ideas that seems good until you think about it for five minutes. Put them along the right of way, beside the road. Why, oh why do they have to be in the pavement where they'll be blocked by the traffic? And susceptible to damage?

[TiberiusB]

14. Did you watch the video?

Almost right away they discuss using heating elements to melt snow and eliminate the need for plowing, as well as designing the glass to allow water to run off the road. True, it is hard to imagine such a design holding up under the repeated stress from seasonal temperature changes and constant pressure from traffic and so on, but if the average life time for each panel can be extended sufficiently, the money generated from the power supplied by the solar cells could offset the cost of maintenance. As for traffic blocking out the sun, do you mean traffic jams? If not, I don't see how the amount of time the cells would be blocked from the sun by passing traffic would limit their efficiency to the point that they wouldn't be worth the effort. If you are talking about putting the panels in parking lots, the guy leading the project said this back in 2009, when the whole thing pretty much started,

"Parking lots are much better than going right out onto the highway," Brusaw says. "You have slow-moving, lightweight vehicles. We can learn all the lessons there before moving into the fast lane."

He also said,

"The cost to develop a glass that will hold up in the fast lane of a highway? Fifteen [million] to 25 million dollars over three to five years."

I can't say for sure how far along the whole project is, but I'm betting they haven't banked that much money yet, so there is likely a ton of work still to do. Asking people to drive on even the toughest glass may be a hard sell, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth looking into. When you consider the fact that asphalt is made from petroleum, declining oil supplies and climate change means ditching asphalt eventually, whether it's for glass or something else.

[PotatoChip]

15. I agree with you.

The only exception being that in snow-belt areas, road surfaces would likely still accumulate water, snow, ice, or some combination thereof, despite a design that attempts to take that into account. There is just too much precipitation and extreme temperature fluctuations for the heating element(s) and water runoff design to accommodate (I would think).

However, I believe that issue could be overcome with a little human intervention, as I mentioned down-thread.

Likewise, other issues, such as long term maintenance, perhaps circuitry failures (?) ect, would also require some 'out of the box' thinking to address...

That said, the idea is good enough to attempt to work out these, as well as other unforeseen problems. By starting small, w/a few pilot project trials in various geographic regions, potential issues could be identified and dealt with. It's well worth the try, in my opinion.

As the saying goes, 'never throw the baby out with the bathwater'.

[Scruffy Rumbler]

18. The video shows how some of these problems could be handled or eliminated.

1.The amount of road surface compared to vehicles is such that at any given time enough surface would be exposed. Even if this was done to limited access highways would be huge. It seems that where there is rush hour and congestion, the part of the system not being used would continue to produce.
2. It is heated.... it melts the snow.... no plows needed.
3. The ease with which they installed that last row... quicker to take out and drop a new one in rather then the time it takes to fill pot holes.

Another benefit, rest areas could have charging stations or the vehicles themselves could draw their power from the road directly.

Transition maybe a nightmare, but this system seems to have some possibilities!

And this was just two people in their garage making this. Can you imagine what would happen if they had say just a fraction of the oil industry's subsidies to work with?

[longship]

19. Why put solar panels where they are going to be covered up?

The whole purpose of a road is to put cars on top of them, effectively blocking the sun, at least partially.

As I wrote above, why not just put them along the roadside where none of the problems I listed would exist.

[Autumn Colors]

22. They're heated ... snow automatically melts

No need for snowplows.

[longship]

23. Where do they get the energy to heat them when they're covered with snow?

There's more holes in this plan that Albert Hall.

Plus, it would be cheaper to just put the panels beside the right of way. No muss, no fuss, no messy pans to clean.

[valerief]

4. What would it do to the Koch Brothers? After all, that's apparently the only thing

that matters in this country.

[Control-Z]

6. I read in another post

that heaters were built in for that purpose. Can't imagine how that would work, though.

[DeSwiss]

7. What if every road in America Generated Electric Power?

There would be no Exxon. No BP. No major oil companies at all. There would be less ill-health and death. Air would be fresher, water would be cleaner. There would be less cancer. There wouldn't be any wars for oil anymore. And innocent children wouldn't be droned to death.

- And there'd be less money to bribe our Congress. And that's just for starters.......

K&R

[iamthebandfanman]

9. a video from a few years ago :

seems they are working on parking lots now

http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml

[FractalMan61]

11. Think outside the box people!

Did any of you actually watch the video? They deal with all of the potential problems with our current roadways in the first 25 seconds. She actually says "but what if there was an invention, just one, that could solve every single one of these problems?". Open your minds people to the possibilities! (ex. heating elements, so no snowplows needed). Of course the cost will need to go down, and that is why they are crowdfunding in order to raise capital for higher volume manufacturing.
It's closed minded thinking that's not helping our current situation. Instead of complaining, offer some suggestions for the inventors. And seriously, someone suggested the solar panels would be useless because cars would cover them? Unless there is a traffic jam with bumper to bumper traffic, this objection is ridiculous. They also mention early on that the panels have been thoroughly tested and passed all durability challenges.
Don't be so negative towards this great idea. Sure there will be kinks to work out, but that's what ingenuity is all about. Think outside the box people!

[PotatoChip]

12. That is so cool!

Like others in this thread, I too immediately thought of serious obstacles. But, where there is a will, there's a way...

Some mentioned plowing and maintenance. Yes, I realize that those 2 issues alone would be a huge challenge. On the other hand, cutting down on our fossil fuel addiction would free up a lot of money for innovative ways to deal w/these issues. For example, regarding snow plowing, how about massive street sweeping trucks instead? Just a thought...

I think the idea is good enough for a few strategic pilot projects in various diverse geographic areas.

If indeed the challenges prove too great, why not install them alongside roadways? Perhaps in breakdown lanes, or even just roadside right of way ditches?

Or, moving away from the road idea entirely, among many other possible uses, I could easily picture them working well on residential home rooftops... Here in Maine, we get so much snow that it is necessary to have steeply pitched tin roofs that rely on sunny days and just plain gravity to help keep them as snow-free as possible. However, even with that, rooftop snow still accumulates so fast that it requires dealing w/it manually too. The fact that these panels generate their own heat would help immensely, while also generating some power for home energy use.

I think the idea is well worth the time and money it would take to work around the inevitable problems.

[dotymed]

16. Pessimist or realist?

IMO, America is a 3rd world country that has been technologically surpassed (on purpose, oil money) by all 1st world nations Their citizens are strong/smart enough to demand that the wealthy are not allowed the wealth inequalities/govt. ownership that IS America.
Just look at the German solar post....
Here, that would be dismissed as heresy and stricken by our masters...really.

[zebonaut]

20. Google or Apple Should purchase this Innovative Company

[Bee_stung]

21. Didn't I remember...

... Somebody here suggesting covering an connected interstate waterway (small ex. like the LA aqueduct) system w/ solar panels; not only to trap any evaporation but allowing pumping stations to self-power propelling the line up accross, or even better yet, to store for future power production in high reservoirs. I'm sure States' droughts and flooding issues could also be addressed with a system like this as well. Also wouldn't highly buoyant solar docks offshore tied down on the underside (Just like Nature shows us with kelp - in a way) to some seafloor generators (would be a challenge to find materials that can withstand ocean conditions I suppose - heavy gauge chain or rod?). Even those hellical wind turbines other countries use ( in lieu of the dangerous eyesores the US has - wonder if that is intentional? ) Some of the creations are very artistic and can put on spectacular shows when uplit with LED's at night

I come here to see all the cool ideas people have

So much could or could've been done if human sociology didn't accelerate and equate the sociopaths we call our success stories to the top slots of society (please step on my head - oh can i have another) just our nature, huh.