SOLAR FREAKIN ROADWAYS! On rout 66! NOT EXACTLY!

[Justin_]

So there is a rumor going around the news sites about the USA classic route 66 highway will be covered with solar panels, right? WRONG! I want to make sure that people know this! THEY ARE PUTTING THE SOLAR PANELS ON A 12x20 FOOT SECTION OF A SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF A ROUTE 66 MUSEUM! Please don't spread the rumor that the entire route 66 will be covered

 

Sources;

David Jones EEVBlog eletronice enganeer; 

\The local news; http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Solar-pilot-project-could-pave-way-to-roadways-of-the-future-383470771.html

[AlwaysFSX]

I mean people already ran the numbers, nobody would believe it would be done on the 66 in the first place because it'd cost more money than it's worth.

[DXMember]

how is this news?

[Crashbash111]

3 minutes ago, Justin_ said:

So there is a rumor going around the news sites about the USA classic route 66 highway will be covered with solar panels, right? WRONG! I want to make sure that people know this! THEY ARE PUTTING THE SOLAR PANELS ON A 12x20 FOOT SECTION OF A SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF A ROUTE 66 MUSEUM! Please don't spread the rumor that the entire route 66 will be covered

 

Sources;

David Jones EEVBlog eletronice enganeer; 

\The local news; http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Solar-pilot-project-could-pave-way-to-roadways-of-the-future-383470771.html

I remember hearing about this - and it definitely sounded a bit far fetched. 

[handymanshandle]

3 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

I mean people already ran the numbers, nobody would believe it would be done on the 66 in the first place because it'd cost more money than it's worth.

Maybe one day there'll be some way to get the costs of solar roads down. But to be honest it may never be.

[Legolessed]

7 minutes ago, Justin_ said:

So there is a rumor going around the news sites about the USA classic route 66 highway will be covered with solar panels, right? WRONG! I want to make sure that people know this! THEY ARE PUTTING THE SOLAR PANELS ON A 12x20 FOOT SECTION OF A SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF A ROUTE 66 MUSEUM! Please don't spread the rumor that the entire route 66 will be covered

 

Sources;

David Jones EEVBlog eletronice enganeer; 

\The local news; http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Solar-pilot-project-could-pave-way-to-roadways-of-the-future-383470771.html

this is the news? he never shows the quote that says it

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, wcreek said:

Maybe one day there'll be some way to get the costs of solar roads down. But to be honest it may never be.

it's not as much the cost needing to go down, as the efficiency needing to go up.

 

among a whole buttload of other problems dave mentioned in his last solar roadways video.

[givingtnt]

16 minutes ago, Justin_ said:

So there is a rumor going around the news sites about the USA classic route 66 highway will be covered with solar panels, right? WRONG! I want to make sure that people know this! THEY ARE PUTTING THE SOLAR PANELS ON A 12x20 FOOT SECTION OF A SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF A ROUTE 66 MUSEUM! Please don't spread the rumor that the entire route 66 will be covered

 

Sources;

David Jones EEVBlog eletronice enganeer; 

\The local news; http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Solar-pilot-project-could-pave-way-to-roadways-of-the-future-383470771.html

not news,

rant not much of interest

 

pretty much everyone knows its shit

 

 

what is your point exacly ?

[AlwaysFSX]

12 minutes ago, wcreek said:

Maybe one day there'll be some way to get the costs of solar roads down. But to be honest it may never be.

It's far too much upkeep and maintenance in the first place, and they probably couldn't hold up to the stresses that vehicles and semis cause.

[Xorbot]

People have been moving electrically powered payloads along Route 66 since late last year.

[Vode]

Solar roadways are bullshit and about as sensible as putting a wind turbine in a cave. Neither is cost effective nor energy effiecient. 

 

 

[manikyath]

21 minutes ago, givingtnt said:

not news,

rant not much of interest

 

pretty much everyone knows its shit

 

 

what is your point exacly ?

the point is that for some reason surprisingly few people know it's shit, and that it's still going on...

[Vode]

23 minutes ago, manikyath said:

the point is that for some reason surprisingly few people know it's shit, and that it's still going on...

People are lazy. Story's are often believed without questioning anything, taking for granted what's hasn't been proven and agreeing with superficial "prove" happen way to often.

 

Not on this forum and in any enthusiast community, I'm reffering to general populus. That's why a kickstarter project of a flawed concept at it's core can be successful... *Sigh*

[Future Soldier]

i 

51 minutes ago, Vode said:

Solar roadways are bullshit and about as sensible as putting a wind turbine in a cave. Neither is cost effective nor energy effiecient. 

 

 

 

totally true its neither be cost effective nor energy efficient.,these are not effective for those who dont know  many youtube vids are there about this

[Megahurt]

5 hours ago, wcreek said:

Maybe one day there'll be some way to get the costs of solar roads down. But to be honest it may never be.

Doesn't matter if they get the cost down, it will always be more cost effective to put them beside the road. If you had unlimited budget and a desperate need for energy, then they could work, but I doubt that would ever happen.

[MrDynamicMan]

Wow. 2 years and however many millions later they make the same amount of energy on a pavement that I can on my roof for ten grand. 

[IGJoe2192]

There is no reason not to be excited about this, even if it is SOLAR FREAKING WALKWAYS which would make more sense as they don't tend to be abused as much as roadways. I really would like to see a push for many different types of solar electricity production, for use on the sides or tops of buildings.

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, IGJoe2192 said:

There is no reason not to be excited about this, even if it is SOLAR FREAKING WALKWAYS which would make more sense as they don't tend to be abused as much as roadways. I really would like to see a push for many different types of solar electricity production, for use on the sides or tops of buildings.

Rooftop and sidewalk mounted Solar Panels make sense.

 

Solar roadways do not. Roads are meant to be driven on. When a car is on a road, it's blocking the sun from hitting the solar panel. When the sun doesn't hit the panel, it doesn't generate power.

 

Solar roadways only make sense if no one drives on them.

 

And that's not even considering the increased cost of a hardened and durable solar panel that can be installed in a road. Nor the huge abuse they will take from cars and trucks.

[zMeul]

5 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Rooftop and sidewalk mounted Solar Panels make sense

the sidewalk panels make absolutely no sense

• degradation over time
• if they are in a circulated area, the time exposed to the sun is minuscule
• dirt
• not optimally angled towards the sun
• sun exposure will depend on surroundings (other buildings, trees and whatnot)

[dalekphalm]

Just now, zMeul said:

the sidewalk panels make absolutely no sense

• degradation over time
• if they are in a circulated area, the time exposed to the sun is minuscule
• dirt
• not optimally angled towards the sun
• sun exposure will depend on surroundings (other buildings, trees and whatnot)

Let me rephrase my statement, since I didn't clearly state what I meant in my previous post.

 

When I said "sidewalk mounted", I didn't mean the sidewalk is made of panels. I meant they mounted panels along the sidewalk above people's heads.

 

Apologies for the misunderstanding.

 

I agree 100% with your conclusion about surface mounted sidewalk panels.

[zMeul]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Let me rephrase my statement, since I didn't clearly state what I meant in my previous post.

 

When I said "sidewalk mounted", I didn't mean the sidewalk is made of panels. I meant they mounted panels along the sidewalk above people's heads.

 

Apologies for the misunderstanding.

 

I agree 100% with your conclusion about surface mounted sidewalk panels.

yes, that makes much much more sense

 

I saw a bridge or something similar in Korea with solar panels mounted in the median strip between the lanes

[Orblivion]

13 hours ago, wcreek said:

Maybe one day there'll be some way to get the costs of solar roads down. But to be honest it may never be.

It's not overall cost I'm worried about, it's upkeep.  We have serious issues just keeping pavement in usable condition.

[handymanshandle]

1 minute ago, Orblivion said:

It's not overall cost I'm worried about, it's upkeep.  We have serious issues just keeping tar in usable condition.

I see you're not alone.

13 hours ago, manikyath said:

it's not as much the cost needing to go down, as the efficiency needing to go up.

 

among a whole buttload of other problems dave mentioned in his last solar roadways video.

13 hours ago, AlwaysFSX said:

It's far too much upkeep and maintenance in the first place, and they probably couldn't hold up to the stresses that vehicles and semis cause.

7 hours ago, Megahurt said:

Doesn't matter if they get the cost down, it will always be more cost effective to put them beside the road. If you had unlimited budget and a desperate need for energy, then they could work, but I doubt that would ever happen.

 

 

 

[manikyath]

Just now, wcreek said:

I see you're not alone.

to be honest, belgian roads (or rather the lack of the road still being there) are screaming for an alternative to asphalt

this is the first hit on google for "belgian road"

 

the image shown, is the border between belgium and the netherlands. i'll let you make up what side of the picture is which

[dalekphalm]

25 minutes ago, zMeul said:

yes, that makes much much more sense

 

I saw a bridge or something similar in Korea with solar panels mounted in the median strip between the lanes

Oh I've seen that too. I think that's an awesome method for Solar generation.  There are literally thousands of kilometers worth of unused median strips on Highways here in just Ontario, let alone the entire country.

 

That could be serious potential for solar generation.