solar roadways

[tejkowskit]

Anybody else been following this? Welcome to the 21st century! Kinda skeptical on the longevity. Also curious to see how tires hold up to the surface.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways

I think it's a brilliant idea, but like all new things, will take some time to implement and perfect.

 

[lytehouse]

I think it's a brilliant idea, but like all new things, will take some time to implement and perfect.

And a boat load of money!!

 

[tejkowskit]

Right. I wonder how long they would need to be installed for to pay for themselves. No doubt it's ridiculously expensive, but after x amount of years they have we to be worth it in energy savings.

 

[Solarservant]

I gotta chime in here.

I love the idea, but there are many practical concerns on the power end, and that's just a start. If deployed on a grand scale, the grid would be overloaded during the day, and underserved at night. There has to be some type of storage solution for all of this energy. Utilities are already fighting the widespread adoption of grid-tied PV, and they know this would be the last nail in the coffin for the centralized power distribution model. Something I am totally for, but not optimistic about how quickly this could be implemented with them standing in the way.

If the general public wants this technology to be adopted, there will have to be a huge groundswell of support (letters, petitions, marches, etc.). Again, with our legislature having been bought and paid for by said utility companies, I wonder how quickly we could be up and running.