Seems like a good idea.
www.iflscience.com/technology/solar-roads-could-power-entire-country/
Great idea..... But how long would it take the council workers to fix the roads if they were used?
It takes months to just fix a pothole now.......
I don't get it. How is this any different than putting solar cells on a roof, or anywhere else?
Can't see the up-side, but plenty of down-side. Will wear out from traffic, will be in the shadow of traffic, need to be made strong enough to carry traffic - but what is the point?
I'd hate to imagine the cost compared to dedicated rooftop solar or PV farm.
What am I missing here?
Like harrow said.
Why would anyone design solar panels for the ground? Where they will be covered in shadows from trees, traffic, dirt.
They should've invested their time and energy designing these for carpark rooftops.
and whats the difference of cost to asphalt given most places wont be diggin up their billion$ highways to replace it any time soon mite be doable for a home driveway
I agree with Harrow...BUT....we should give these nice people the money to research it.
Years ago, there was a power generating roadway being spruiked in the USA,
Instead of solar, it was hydraulic.
Sections of road were constructed out of special panels, and hooked up to hydraulic rams which were underneath.
As vehicles drove over the road, the panel flexed slightly, the rams were compressed which forced fluid through a hydraulic pump - hooked up to a generator/turbine thingo.
IIRC, there was mention of it being "easily" adapted for use as bridge decking, on bridges that use steel mesh as roadway - so every vehicle driving over the bridge triggered a continual series of hydraulic pulses.
stephen
Clearly some people have too much time and money. What a stupid idea that will never happen. Perhaps some big company with a lot of money could install this in front of their headquarters for all to see, beyond that it's absurdly too expensive to implement.
Select to expand quotesn said...
Years ago, there was a power generating roadway being spruiked in the USA,
Instead of solar, it was hydraulic.
Sections of road were constructed out of special panels, and hooked up to hydraulic rams which were underneath.
As vehicles drove over the road, the panel flexed slightly, the rams were compressed which forced fluid through a hydraulic pump - hooked up to a generator/turbine thingo.
IIRC, there was mention of it being "easily" adapted for use as bridge decking, on bridges that use steel mesh as roadway - so every vehicle driving over the bridge triggered a continual series of hydraulic pulses.
stephen
someone was in fantasy land for that one, way to much engineering under the road and would increase the fuel consumed by the vehicles as they are effectively driving up a tiny but continuous incline to get up and 'over' the pump.
Select to expand quoteChris6791 said...sn said...
Years ago, there was a power generating roadway being spruiked in the USA,
Instead of solar, it was hydraulic.
Sections of road were constructed out of special panels, and hooked up to hydraulic rams which were underneath.
As vehicles drove over the road, the panel flexed slightly, the rams were compressed which forced fluid through a hydraulic pump - hooked up to a generator/turbine thingo.
IIRC, there was mention of it being "easily" adapted for use as bridge decking, on bridges that use steel mesh as roadway - so every vehicle driving over the bridge triggered a continual series of hydraulic pulses.
stephen
someone was in fantasy land for that one, way to much engineering under the road and would increase the fuel consumed by the vehicles as they are effectively driving up a tiny but continuous incline to get up and 'over' the pump.
Indeed! Why not simplify it even further, do away with the vehicle part of the idea and just fix thousands of four-cyclinder internal combustion engines to the road surface to pump the rams, to force the fluid, to rotate the turbine, to generate electricity. Genius!! 
I'll be the first to sue when I slip and fall on the slippery glass.
There is intelligence and there is common sense, clearly this is an example
I reckon you guys are a bit short sighted and negative. Sure paving every road is unlikely to be a go, and even as a running surface it is iffy...but it is ideas like this that lead to real innovation.
Solar panel tech is advancing pretty quickly and cost are dropping. If some of the implementation challenges are solved and costs are low enough I can see some possibilities. A strip of it in the shoulder/breakdown lane could power entire freeway lighting systems.
^^^ But why not use a much simpler method of infusing a (already existing) solar paint into a road surfacing system? It looks very much over-engineered to me.
[edit] Although good on them for having a go. 
