ENDLESS ELECTRICITY: Here's A Way Of Turning America's Roads Into Gigantic Solar Panels

Business Insider ^ | 05/14/2014 | ROB WILE

[Ghost of SVR4]

I like the idea, but agree with you. These things wouldn’t stand a chance against snow plows.

[Pecos]

And for only 14 gagillion dollars (after all the right cronies/socialists get their cut). What bargain.

[Vigilanteman]

Looks like an Avalon Hill board game from the 70s or 80s!

Loved those games and especially the more sophisticated version by Simulations Publications. Four guys and I stacked into a car in the days after Christmas 1974 to go to New York, play test and meet the legendary James Dunnigan in person.

SPI and Dunnigan designed Avalon Hill's better games.

[nomad]

Well a 12ft. plow, depending on manufacturer, can weight in at about 3000lbs. and is pushed at around 25-30 MPH, some drivers love to see the rooster tails fly so they go faster.

Would that panel absorb such abuse? Not to mention de-icer corrosion and sand abrasion.

[JimRed]

It will never see the light of day, outside of testing. Too much money made by other interests is at stake.

[MrB]

Any “clouding” of the clear covering will reduce efficiency significantly. And driving on the panels will definitely scratch and cloud those surfaces.

[MCF]

In the winter, solar panels in the south could be used to heat the panels in the north. Snowplows would only be necessary in times of heavy snow fall.

[SampleMan]

If the joint were pervious so water could soak into the ground underneath that would be a plus.

The ground underneath is still going to be 6-12" of concrete.

[TangoLimaSierra]

One problem with solar panels is that when they are connected in series they are limited to the output of the worst producing panel.

Have you heard of MPPT chargers?

[TangoLimaSierra]

I like the idea, but agree with you. These things wouldn’t stand a chance against snow plows.

Don't know why so many are making the snowplow comment. Article says they produce heat to melt ice & snow. I like the idea, too, as long as taxpayers are not subsidizing it.

[Sacajaweau]

Everything that I read says solar panels are hot when the sun is up.

Ever step barefoot on hot asphalt or concrete?

[oh8eleven]

I don’t think it is intended for places that snow.
From the article:

"There are about 31,251 square miles of roads, parking lots, driveways, playgrounds,
bike paths, and sidewalks in the lower 48 states."

Doesn't sound like they excluded any cold/snowy states to me.
Plus, why are they testing in Idaho?

[achilles2000]

If the market is allowed ot work, every source finds its niche, but solar is only a niche source. The physics of it make it very limited, and that’s before you get to storage issues.

[Smokin' Joe]

If the joint were pervious so water could soak into the ground underneath that would be a plus.

In these parts, the freeze and thaw cycle would have the road surface and subgrade a shambles every spring and fall, and hell to drive on all winter (until the trucks broke everything down and mashed it flat).

[Smokin' Joe]

Y’all better have a LOT of sunshine. You’d need to heat the panels 70-80 degrees on some days just to get the snow to melt, and that doesn’t account for wind chill on the panels.

[CodeToad]

Or are too dirty to allow sunlight to pass through.

[EQAndyBuzz]

I can see this happening at the Subdivision level. A small power plant built into a subdivision with the sidewalks and possibly driveways configured to accommodate the panels.

Home owners would pay for their electricity as part of their HOA dues.

[Smokin' Joe]

I can’t see living anywhere there is a HOA.

[JWC 1965]

I could see anything happening at this point.

He lies about everything and there’s no telling what else is being covered up.

[MeshugeMikey]

the shells about be be busted wide open...