As the climate crisis deepens, the problems relating to greenhouse gases increases. We are in bad need of some major breakthroughs in the area of renewable energy in order that we can replace our reliance on the fossil fuels we currently use for the generation of our electricity.
Here’s a fantastic idea that could for ever change our energy and transport infrastructure. Two words … solar roadways.
Using a series of structurally-engineered solar panels that you can drive over, the solar roadway could replace all current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways. The Solar Road PanelsTM are said to collect and store solar energy that can be used as solar power for homes and businesses.
The idea is receiving some serious attention. The U.S. Department of Transport awarded the company $100,000 to construct a prototype 12′ by 12′ panel.
The proposed panels are to be made of three layers. The lowest layer houses power and data lines. This is overlaid by the electronics strata that contain solar cells, LEDs and super-capacitors which would produce and store the electricity.
The built in LEDs would light up the road while also holding the necessary microprocessors and communications device to give the highways “intelligence”. Thereby, traffic messages such as ‘Traffic Delays’ can be flashed up to alert drivers.
The top layer is made of a special thick durable glass that has the same traction as asphalt. This will protect all the electronics.
Ideally this innovation will be able to sense animals that have strayed onto the roadway. It will also have the artificial intelligence to know when to heat the road when covered with snow and ice. It will also act as the power source for the electric cars, enabling them to plug into the road at strategic points along the journey.
It has been suggested by Scott Brusaw, the man behind Solar Roadways, that, if every street, driveway and parking lot was replaced with his Solar Road PanelsTM, the product would generate three times as much electricity as is used in the US on an average year.
He also suggests that the assignment of covering America’s roads with 12′x12′ solar panels would create 2.5 million jobs in the production aspect alone.
However, it remains to be seen whether this product will be able to cope with carrying thousands of 40-ton vehicles every day. There is also the question of what happens when night falls? This scenario presents the further complication of having to store the solar energy for use at night. All that, and we still haven’t considered what happens in the winter months?
These are traditional questions facing all solar proposals though. As the drive to go solar is growing, these issues are being solved more and more frequently, so who knows? Maybe … just maybe, this might work!
There may be one further small problem however … the price tag? The estimate right now is running at around US $35 trillion.
It would take some seriously forward sighted people to get behind this ambitious renewable energy project, but given the fact that there’s such a massive need for such a huge breakthrough, maybe those figures are indeed realistic. If it worked, it would be magnificent. Someone with some serious chutzpah is needed to pull this one off. We wait to see if any financial backers step forward. It could be a world changing initiative. You saw it here first!
Reported By: Sam Deane
Info via: zikkir.com
Pic via: solarroadways.com
Click The Text Below To Visit Our
Homes & Gardens Solar Store!
Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS Feed!
Thank you for your time and interest and hope you enjoyed this article about Top Ten. If so, please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon, delicious or add to the other social network of your choice to help us spread the word about these important issues.
Leave a reply to Is THIS The Solar Breakthrough We’ve All Been Dreaming Of?