Solar roads

[begreen]

A couple years back there was a lot of press about a fellow promoting the idea of paving with solar. It was a novel idea, but using his tech, quite expensive. It now looks like France is going to give it a go with a project to pave 1000 km with solar panels at a lower cost. It will be interesting to see how well this stands up. It's thinner, goes over existing roadways and appears to have a higher traction surface.
http://wonderfulengineering.com/fra...s-first-solar-road-that-will-be-1000-km-long/

previous thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/solar-roadways.128278/
and an update:
(broken link removed)

 

[vinny11950]

Sounds great. Gotta start somewhere.

I wonder how they would work around the snow ploughs.

 

[woodgeek]

I still don't get it. Since humans and wild animals people don't want to live next to a highway, why not have solar along the margins or median of an interstate? Repair maintenance gets ready access...lots of power for EV charging along the route, etc.

Of course, Heinlein got there first....This was how Lazarus Long made his millions IIRC...cheap solar along the interstates. Heinlein figured the devices would be reversible....run power through the PV panel, and it was a super-efficient light bulb...like our LEDs.

 

[snocross1985]

A company did try to install a solar farm along the highway in North Carolina. Got shot down as the people of the community feared it would steal the sun from the surrounding area. Although, I do agree that installing panels along the side of the highway seems like more bang for the buck.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-up-all-the-energy-from-the-sun-a6771526.html

 

[peakbagger]

The Germans did a lot of solar installations along highways. I think they also acted as noise deflectors. I expect a major challenge would be to make sure that glare off the panels didn't become an issue for drivers.

Look up Heinline's the Road must Roll short story. Its premise is the highway system is replaced by conveyor belts and that all the roofs were covered with solar generators that fed the electrical needs of the country including the conveyor systems. Quite prescient for the 1940s

 

[iamlucky13]

Got shot down as the people of the community feared it would steal the sun from the surrounding area.

Two people argued that in a public comment session. They were not people with any decision making authority. Only exercising their right to comment on land-use decisions, however dumb their commentary may be.

The local paper printed the quote. Most of the rest of the internet, including numerous media outlets that pretend to be professional enough to report the whole story, like The Independent, then misreported the story as if it that were the deciding factor.

The actual basis for the decision was the number of residents opposed to additional large solar farms beyond those that they already felt were becoming too prominent in the view surrounding their town, and the loss of a large chunk of agricultural and industrial zoned land that had some potential of generating future long term economic activity, as opposed to the rezoning requested by the solar company, which would have produced only a short blip as the out-of-area workers patronized local businesses during installation, then went on their way.

Unfortunately, the media, in its frenzy for page views, falsely portrayed the entire town as being represented by those two fools. Only a very small number of outlets have bothered to consider the possibility that they might be unethically misleading the world into believing all 800 people there were fools by boiling the entire decision down to quotes from two fools.

http://www.vox.com/2015/12/18/10519644/north-carolina-solar-town

The town's statement:
(broken link removed to http://townofwoodlandnc.com/index_htm_files/Solar%20Farm%20Projects%20Located%20Near%20Woodland.pdf)

 

[sportbikerider78]

If you have ever been to an event that was later covered by the press, you always wonder what event the press went to.
Deliberate. Biased. Lying. I'm amazed people still turn the TV on to get news.

 

[iamlucky13]

Not always, but obnoxiously often.

Generally, the more ridiculous the story sounds, the more likely it's been badly reported on. There's still some doozies that happen that are crazy but true, but it seems increasingly necessary to "doubt but verify" instead of "trust but verify."

 

[woodgeek]

Agree that the folks in SC got a bum rap. Their town was getting boxed in by rather large solar farms, and there was not going to be any revenue (or jobs) going into the town itself. So they blocked the process before the boxing in was complete.