Solar roadways

[wsushox1]

I am currently reading more about this solar road deal, and a few wonks have discussed this. OTOH, the more I read, the more I see even liberals shying away due to cost. I had to dig far and wide to find any cost estimates, they aren't very forthcoming with the information. What I did find was each panel costs about $7,000 and in 2006 $'s, we are looking at more than $56 trillion in cost of panels alone. That does not include any construction costs. I still would like to see a small test on this. If two residential blocks in a dozen or so cities showed promise, a slow expansion may be in order. If it doesn't work, well, we tried.

Just gotta be sure to put them west of the turnpike and not in Ralston since it always rains in those places.

[DUShock]

Solar power windows will be a reality before the roadway takes off but this (the roadway) is a start of something that will likely become a reality in the future. We may all be worm food but some iteration of this technology will come to pass in the everyday world. On an ever increasing basis we will see the solar windows in the near future. Progress.

[Aargh]

Then there's the batteries you'd need. Can't have the lane markers disappear once the sun goes down.

This is a really stupid idea. If you're going to put out about a gazillion solar panels, why would you put them in a place where every car on the roads is shading them? Some cars leak oil on the roads, so you'd have to have cleaning crews.

[Dave Stalwart]

I did a project on the feasibility of the solar shingles on houses idea as part of my business degree at WSU. In 06 we wound up determining that it was still too expensive to start happening, but that not too long down the road, like around now, it might become affordable enough to start happening.

I think it would be just as fun to see homes getting built more frequently with it rather than to jump all the way to replacing our roads with it. The roof of a house would be easier to maintain I would think, and the size of the shingles were much smaller and seemingly easier to make/maintain. Plus, instead of the public "grid" they only power the house itself. It's way more privately centered, and you would still be wired to the grid, but it would still dramatically alter how much conventional energy is consumed

[Dave Stalwart]

What's going to be really funny is when the whole country starts running on safe, reliable, renewable energy but we are still paying as much, if not more for the service as consumers. I'm sure many idealist people think if the world generated all its energy from the sun, energy would become cheap. No, we'll still be paying a lot for our energy services. It will just be green now instead. One thing I've learned in my few years of experience, it's that someone needs to be making money :)

Green is all that will be gained here, right?

[BenWSU]

Aargh: Solar panel sidewalks

[pogo]

Solar powered shingles....just think of the Christmas light displays with music you could achieve or make seasonal greetings. Clark Griswold eat your heart out.

[BenWSU]

My issue with solar shingles is losing a roof to these yearly hailstorms. Insurance would cover it?

[pinstripers]

If it was insured, sure.

[Dave Stalwart]

We also lose regular infrastructure to storms in the same way. A storm is a storm. You would just have to deal with it. Your homeowners insurance would cover it. The idea is to get to a point where this type of system isn't so terribly expensive that it's that far outside of what is fairly normal for a house... So there would be no reason for insurance to say it was outside of what they cover. I think at the time of our project it was looking like 10-20k for a roof. That's why it's not popular yet. It would take too long to pay for itself so only the rich progressive types could possibly try it out. I'm just going by the fact that you still don't see much of it, that it still isn't quite feasible. Heck, none if this may ever work, but it sure would be cool if it did.

[pinstripers]

We also lose regular infrastructure to storms in the same way. A storm is a storm. You would just have to deal with it. Your homeowners insurance would cover it. The idea is to get to a point where this type of system isn't so terribly expensive that it's that far outside of what is fairly normal for a house... So there would be no reason for insurance to say it was outside of what they cover. I think at the time of our project it was looking like 10-20k for a roof. That's why it's not popular yet. It would take too long to pay for itself so only the rich progressive types could possibly try it out. I'm just going by the fact that you still don't see much of it, that it still isn't quite feasible. Heck, none if this may ever work, but it sure would be cool if it did.

Well, it WOULD be outside of what is covered unless it was specifically named.

[1979Shocker]

My issue with solar shingles is losing a roof to these yearly hailstorms. Insurance would cover it?

So if hail could damage a solar shingle, what would it do to these solar panels on the roads? Can they withstand hailstones larger than golf balls?

[BenWSU]

So if hail could damage a solar shingle, what would it do to these solar panels on the roads? Can they withstand hailstones larger than golf balls?

Good question. I was just wondering how you design something to be weather proof when you always have hailstorms.

[The Mad Hatter]

So if hail could damage a solar shingle, what would it do to these solar panels on the roads? Can they withstand hailstones larger than golf balls?

Presumably since the roadway panels are designed to have cars driven across them, they would have durability in their design that would not necessarily exist in a shingle form factor.

[1979Shocker]

At $7,000 per panel, if you have a 24 wide road that would come to $42,000 per yard. Depending on location there are 8 to 20 blocks to a mile. Let's roll with 10.

1760 yards / 10 blocks = 176 yards / block. 2 blocks x 176 yards / block = 352 yards.

352 yards * $42,000 = $14,784,000 for 2 blocks of solar freaking panels.

And that doesn't include preparation (level and grade the earth, put down substrate, grade ditches, install culverts, etc) or installation of the panels. Nor does it include the cost of the concrete chases and equipment, or the construction and installation of that equipment, that have to run down the side of the road.

Wouldn't the panels have to be applied to an existing surface that was hard enough to prevent the weight of passing vehicles from causing the panels to sink into the material below it?

That means any new roads that were built for panels would include the cost of adding the panels and also the cost of preparing a surface (such of asphalt) that could support the panels.