The solar panel road, dream or the future?

Kramodlog · May 9, 2014

Pretty interesting stuff. This couple says they made solar panels that can be used to make roads. If true, the potential is huge, since we have so much roads in the Western world. For developping countries that would be two birds with one stone (road infrastructure+energy).

I wonder if solar panels can get hot like asphalt. This could also reduce the urban heat island effect.

To be honest, I just think this is just a threat to the status quo to be adopted by guberments and the private sector.

Jan van Leyden · May 9, 2014

Cool idea, but...

How do these elements respond to real traffic (wear)? What'd be their lifetime? What about construction costs? They would need a foundation made from concrete. How will concave surfaces (needed for draining off water) be implemented? What aboput grip depending on temperature, humiditiy, etc.?

Many more question than exclamation marks.

Hand of Evil · May 9, 2014

I would go with singles, every roof top a power source.

Umbran · May 9, 2014

goldomark said:
To be honest, I just think this is just a threat to the status quo to be adopted by guberments and the private sector.

They have already had $850K in funding from the US Department of Transportation.

"In 2009, we received a contract from the Federal Highway Administration to build the first ever Solar Road Panel prototype. During the course of its construction, we learned many lessons and discovered new and better ways to approach this project. These methods and discoveries are discussed throughout this website. Please enjoy and send us any questions that you may have."

"After successful completion of the Phase I SBIR contract, we were awarded a follow-up 2-year Phase II $750,000 SBIR contract by the Federal Highway Administration beginning in 2011. With this award, a prototype parking lot will be built and then tested under all weather and sunlight conditions."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_roadway

http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml

I think there are enough technological and logistical barriers to doing this on a large scale that we don't have to get into the political commentary (which I will remind everyone is not appropriate for this site).

They admit installation costs will be higher than for conventional roadways. There are also materials and maintenance issues to be considered - your solar roadway is no good if it gets dirty, covered with oil or snow, and all that, or if it won't put up with the wear and tear of cars and trucks for years at a time. And the sheer number of panel units you'd need to create is astonishing...

You know that, at the moment, most solar panel technology isn't chemically clean to produce? We have to consider if producing these on the truly massive scale required will not be merely trading a carbon pollution problem into a toxic waste problem.

I think Hand of Evil is right that home roofing would probably be a better place to start. And they already exist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_shingle

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/im-getting-my-roof-redone-and-heard-about-solar-shingles/

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1205726,00.html

Scott DeWar · May 9, 2014

As an electrician, I have been following the rooftop solar panel generation for about 5 years now. I am not sure that I ave much to add except to say that the restriction of toxic waste for lower co2 emissions is a major issue I never see brought up in forums. except this one now.

Jan van Leyden · May 9, 2014

Umbran said:
You know that, at the moment, most solar panel technology isn't chemically clean to produce? We have to consider if producing these on the truly massive scale required will not be merely trading a carbon pollution problem into a toxic waste problem.

Which is why the European solar comapnies have already implemented Recycling of solar panels. While solar panels are not without environmental problems, the structures becomne more and more fit to deal with it on a larger scale.

Scott DeWar · May 9, 2014

I always wondered if a solar panel could be recycled. I was not sure if the doping of the silicon could have the molecular bond broken from the doping material. I guess so!

Umbran · May 9, 2014

Scott DeWar said:
As an electrician, I have been following the rooftop solar panel generation for about 5 years now. I am not sure that I ave much to add except to say that the restriction of toxic waste for lower co2 emissions is a major issue I never see brought up in forums. except this one now.

Anything done on a modern human industrial scale has environmental impact. That is unavoidable. It is merely a question of whether the impact can be managed to a level where the world around us can bear it. Any time they bring up how "New Technology X saves us Y!" we must ask what it costs us. Sometimes the cost is a good tradeoff, sometimes it isn't. You can't look at conservation just at the end and be successful at it. You have to look at the full life of the technology, start to finish, to identify all the costs before you can really assess it.

Scott DeWar said:
I always wondered if a solar panel could be recycled. I was not sure if the doping of the silicon could have the molecular bond broken from the doping material. I guess so!

Current solar panels are ultimately like any other electronics. We don't do a good job of recycling electronics in the US as it is.

Mind you, the issues aren't just in the panels themselves, but in production of the panels. Setting aside where we get all the rare earth elements to dope the semiconductors with, the processing makes heavy use of caustic substances, and there are wastes. We already produce a lot of such, of course, but add to that stream the results of paving all our roads with it, and it becomes a concern.

Scott DeWar · May 9, 2014

Umbran said:
. . . . . but add to that stream the results of paving all our roads with it, and it becomes a concern.

is this in reference to the breakdown of the material as it ages?

Umbran · May 9, 2014

Scott DeWar said:
is this in reference to the breakdown of the material as it ages?

No. The production process of the materials. Making semiconductor electronics is not environmentally clean, in general.

The solar panel road, dream or the future?

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

Jan van Leyden

Adventurer

Hand of Evil

Hero

Umbran

Mod Squad

Scott DeWar

Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure

Jan van Leyden

Adventurer

Scott DeWar

Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure

Umbran

Mod Squad

Scott DeWar

Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure

Umbran

Mod Squad

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