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Offline Rushy

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Re: Solar Roadways
« Reply #360 on: December 14, 2014, 04:56:21 PM »
Solar biking paths make a lot more sense than solar roadways too. Bikes aren't nearly as traumatic as a car to the surface they are moving on.

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Online Lord Dave

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Re: Solar Roadways
« Reply #361 on: August 29, 2019, 05:34:58 AM »
Just because this came on my feed and I thought it was ironic.

https://www.facebook.com/41869107125/posts/10156018452752126/

Quote
Why is this a graphic and not yet a real Solar Roadway?

We planned from the beginning that roads would be our last application. We chose to focus first on our lab testing funded by three USDOT contracts (just completed the last one), complemented by real world testing at our pilot site in Sandpoint, Idaho.

We have had some "copycats" who decided to rush to roads in other countries with less high tech products. We feared that was a bad idea, and it appears it was - according to media reports.

Our testing has gone very well and the latest results will soon be released. We are now gearing up for full production to meet worldwide demand. Roads will still be last. First up: Parking Lots, Sidewalks, Driveways, Patios, Bike Paths etc.
If you are going to DebOOonK an expert then you have to at least provide a source with credentials of equal or greater relevance. Even then, it merely shows that some experts disagree with each other.

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Offline Dr Van Nostrand

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Re: Solar Roadways
« Reply #362 on: September 08, 2019, 02:53:29 PM »
Solar Roadways has been around since 2006 and has consumed vast piles of crowdfunding and public dollars without producing real results. Now they understand how impractical roads made of solar panels really are so they've moved roads to the end of their list of things to solarize. (even though it's in their name)

In my part of the country, there will NEVER be solar roads. There can be 100 F heat in the summer and -40 F in the winter. Every year the roads buckle, heave, crack and come apart taking months of maintenance work. It can dump 2-3 feet of snow overnight and the kilocalories to melt that snow in time for morning traffic would be way more than any system could generate. Now, imagine a snow plow spraying road salt tearing across the surface of solar cells lining this buckling heaving road pocked with small sinkholes.

There are parts of North America with long stretches of open road in the desert where the concept could be made to work (at great expense.) However, those road usually pass right by large swaths of open land that could be used for solar farms that are cheaper and more efficient.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't pursue the technology. Photovoltaic tar or paint would be a game changer that could be right around the corner. But, Solar Roads was just another crowdfunding fail.

Round Earther patiently looking for a better deal...

If the world is flat, it means that I have been deceived by a global, multi-generational conspiracy spending trillions of dollars over hundreds of years.
If the world is round, it means that you’re just an idiot who believes stupid crap on the internet.

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Online Lord Dave

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Re: Solar Roadways
« Reply #363 on: September 08, 2019, 04:03:13 PM »
In fairness, the solar roads would be easier, if more expensive to fix.  Just pop in a new panel, basically.

But yeah.  I mean, it has its merits but not for commercial roads in America. 
If you are going to DebOOonK an expert then you have to at least provide a source with credentials of equal or greater relevance. Even then, it merely shows that some experts disagree with each other.