Solar Freakin Roadways

Begbie said:
Something that isn't addressed in the video (IIRC) is grip...

Will these things provide as much grip as tarmac, obviously not an issue in most cities but rural roads or even motorways it could become an issue.
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According to the reports done, it surpasses expectations for grip, durability and it can easily hold the weight of 88,000lb lorries (44t artics) and resist the impact of said lorry falling on its side.

Best of all though the panels are easy to replace, so no need for extensive road works to fix a little section, just pull up, unplug old, replace with new and be done in a few minutes.
 
The prototype was built in north america/canada where they have the least amount of sunshine and yet the panels could still produce a decent amount of electricity. Even on days with extensive cloud cover.

With only 9% efficiency, if every road in the US was replaced with solar roadways, they would generate 3 times more electricity than they currently consume.

As for cost the base of each panel is made from recycled waste (landfill plastics) so cost wise shouldn't be that high and it also solves another major issue. Waste from landfill!
 
Some numbers for you on its electricity generation.

18.5% efficiency panels which are currently available in large quantities.
4 hours of peak sun shine per day = 1460 hours/year.

Based on 31,000 square miles of road surface to replace in the USA, would generate 21,827 Billion Kilowatt-hours of electricity. More than 3 times the power it currently consumes.
 
I like this bit.

These panels must be valuable. What's to keep people from stealing them for home use?

Each panel has its own microprocessor, which communicates wirelessly with the surrounding panels. They monitor each other for malfunctions or problems. Even if someone were able to pull a panel out of the road and load it on a truck, the stolen panel would continue communicating with all of the other panels in the road. The road would know exactly where it was and how fast it was moving, making the criminal a sitting duck for law enforcement.
 
The prototype section they have currently has 3600 watts solar array, how much power that produces I have no idea, obviously some would be lost converting from DC to AC but even still it would be "clean" energy so can't be bad.

Also someone mentioned earthquakes.

While nothing can stop an earthquake and panels would become damaged, those that aren't would still continue to produce power and only the panels broken would need replacing.

They are also aiming for a decentralized power grid, so the power your house uses comes from the panels near your house, not hundreds of miles away from a power station.

If I could invest in this now while it's young I bet I would be rich later on in life when it really takes off.
 
Begbie said:
If one of these panels break, how safe are they going to be to drive on?

Made of plastic right? Sharp plastic isn't going to be great for driving across.
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About as safe as roads

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If they say it exceeds traction requirements (which were set by the federal highways agency) I am almost certain that would include motorbikes.

From the tests they have done, traction had to be toned down initially because it damaged the testing device because it was too good. They also tested a vehicle traveling at 80 mph and it stopped well within its required distance.
 
So yeah, he goes on about it being able to take the weight of a large vehicle being glass etc.

They have had the glass tested with up to 250,000lbs on it, why because moving large machinery in north america often weighs that much.

Your typical articulated lorry weighs 88,000lbs
 
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