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Solar Freakin' Roadways

I thought this was pretty cool. The bike path is underneath the solar panels...

 
Nice find.
 
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In France
 
So 1000 km can power up 8% and France has around 950,000 km of roadways. Using just about 1.5% for solar roadways could power the entire country.
 
It will be interesting to see what the long term outlook is for this. If it becomes widespread, there will be a need for "power smoothing" capability. That is solar panels produce the most electricity during the day and in the summer months. People use more electricity at night.

The durability of the surface for roadway use is another potential issue. Will the surface become too slick for driving on safely? What will the need for maintenance be? Shutting down roadways every few months to repair/replace solar panels could be a traffic nightmare.
There also is an economics argument: is this the most cost effective way to use the limited capacity to produce solar panels? How much more electric line infrastructure will need to be built to carry the power from the roadways where produced to the houses and businesses where it will be used?
 
palmab03 said:
Kinda crazy that 600 miles can power up 8% of the country
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There is a little caveat on the "power 8%" claim, and that is that it doesn't include heating. If that is resistance electric heating, that is a lot of kWh not supplied.

Quote from the article:

"According to France’s Agency of Environment and Energy Management, 4m of solarised road is enough to supply one household’s electricity needs, apart from heating, and one kilometre will light a settlement with 5,000 inhabitants."
 
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Deaconblue said:
It will be interesting to see what the long term outlook is for this. If it becomes widespread, there will be a need for "power smoothing" capability. That is solar panels produce the most electricity during the day and in the summer months. People use more electricity at night.

The durability of the surface for roadway use is another potential issue. Will the surface become too slick for driving on safely? What will the need for maintenance be? Shutting down roadways every few months to repair/replace solar panels could be a traffic nightmare.
There also is an economics argument: is this the most cost effective way to use the limited capacity to produce solar panels? How much more electric line infrastructure will need to be built to carry the power from the roadways where produced to the houses and businesses where it will be used?
Click to expand...

Not sure I get the need for smoothing in the summer. The energy produced could directly be used to cool the home. Not sure where in the summer uses more energy at night than the day.

Solar Roadways is installing panels at the Route 66 Welcome Center in Missouri.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/1/12077414/solar-panel-roadway-public-test-route-66
 
This has EPCOT written all over it. Disney is missing a golden opportunity. They could introduce so much new technology to the public. They need to return to the futuristic theme instead of the glorified Busch Gardens/World's Fair theme.
 
awaken said:
Your beloved Disney will, or should, be the first to demo these to the world. They would go great in EPCOT - it needs to be more City of Tomorrow and less Busch Gardens, anyway.
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Haha.
 
sign me up (after we're positive they're not going to go all Note 7 on us and burn things down).
 
Anybody put solar panels on their home through Vivant Solar? Had a guy come out today. He lives in our neighborhood and has installed for some neighbors. Their pitch is pretty straight forward. You can either buy them straight up or take out a 20 year loan that would yield a monthly payment around the same as an average electric bill.
 
Think how much technology has changed over the last 20 years...I don't know if I would do that as
a) you may not be in the house for 20 years
b) the advances in renewable energy are accelerating.

I have not run the numbers, but I would assume that in 5 to ten years, there will be much better/more efficient things to do for your household energy needs. If advances are made, do they upgrade you to the better solution?
 
consumer reports (meh) had an article this month about solar roofs and the value over a 30 year stretch; you def. need to factor in your desire to stay and the value of the energy you'll be generating because some scenarios lose 10-15k over that time frame
 
Sgt Hulka said:
Think how much technology has changed over the last 20 years...I don't know if I would do that as
a) you may not be in the house for 20 years
b) the advances in renewable energy are accelerating.

I have not run the numbers, but I would assume that in 5 to ten years, there will be much better/more efficient things to do for your household energy needs. If advances are made, do they upgrade you to the better solution?
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One reason people are doing it now is that the tax credits start dropping from 30% to 26% in 2020 and eventually to 10% in 2022. There's also a reasonable fear that the GOP at the federal or state levels will make it less affordable to get solar.

As far as your points, the house will still exist in 20 years and there's a decent chance we will still own it. The solar panels probably won't add much value to the home, but it will be more than if we didn't have them. There are always advances in technology. You can't really wait for a stopping point.

Is this the Consumer Reports piece?
https://www.consumerreports.org/energy-saving/shedding-light-on-solar-power/

There has probably never been a better time to switch to solar. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have regulations that are solar-friendly enough (and electricity rates high enough) to make residential solar financially attractive (see map below), and last December Congress extended through 2021 the generous federal tax credits on solar projects that had been set to expire at the end of this year. Residential solar installations increased almost 60 percent between 2014 and 2015, and in 2015 America averaged one new residential solar installation about every 100 seconds. Those who want to wait on the sidelines for further price reductions could be disappointed: The cost of solar panels has started to plateau and, while installation labor and other soft costs continue to fall, the phasing out of state tax incentives and utility rebates and grants has largely offset those savings. Adding an element of urgency to the equation are proposals in a number of states that would radically shrink the utility-bill savings of switching to solar power (see “How Utilities Are Fighting Back on Solar Power”). Because, generally speaking, existing solar customers haven’t been subject to those changes, getting your deal done before new regulations are implemented could save you hundreds of dollars each year.
Though going solar has never been easier or more affordable, the process is not without its potential pitfalls. For instance, most homeowners who switch to solar power are pocketing just a fraction of what they could be saving because they choose to lease their panels rather than to buy them (see “The Real Cost of Leasing vs. Buying”).
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PhDeac said:
One reason people are doing it now is that the tax credits start dropping from 30% to 26% in 2020 and eventually to 10% in 2022. There's also a reasonable fear that the GOP at the federal or state levels will make it less affordable to get solar.

As far as your points, the house will still exist in 20 years and there's a decent chance we will still own it. The solar panels probably won't add much value to the home, but it will be more than if we didn't have them. There are always advances in technology. You can't really wait for a stopping point.

Is this the Consumer Reports piece?
https://www.consumerreports.org/energy-saving/shedding-light-on-solar-power/
Click to expand...

Good points, but there are points in which you can get more bang for your buck, so to speak. Think about how battery technology has advanced in electric cars, for instance. If you got one of the early ones, it is almost worthless (compared to the cars today). Same could happen with the house. In 20 years that (outdated) technology may be viewed as a liability to the seller/buyer. There are breakthroughs in technology that are game changing. All I'm saying is that it may (or may not) happen in the next few years. My point was, that it is something you should consider...

Last point. I hope that in the next 20 years, we don't need subsidies from the government to make this a viable form of power.

Good luck with your decision.
 
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Definitely fair points. I'll definitely get an idea of how much it would cost to uninstall the panels down the road and keep that in mind. What I like is that prices are on par with our current energy expenses. Plus I like the idea of getting a nice fat tax credit in my returns next year. We have some home projects we will be doing and that will help in the short term.

I definitely think tax credits will be a thing of the past because solar is getting more affordable and energy companies will lobby hard for it.
 
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