This thread is inspired by another: view original post
Just gonna tl;dr this shit since this needs to get cleared up, fast.
-Each tile costs roughly $3,000 per square foot, not including cost of maintenance and installation (holy shit that's a lot!)
-Roads are not an ideal surface for solar panels because they are frequently covered by cars, dirt, oil, water, etc
-Glass is unsuitable to drive on
-The government would need to buy a separate power line system (cannot be simply "plugged into" existing power lines)
-Solar panels are optimally angled towards the sun, not straight up
-The issue with solar isn't the lack of space to put panels (they go very well on roofs, parking cover, etc.), it's the current cost of producing and maintaining panels vs. the value of the energy they generate
Watch the video for some more. Solar roadways were never going to happen. Maybe next time you guys will use a bit more scrutiny after watching a video with a caricatured person saying "whoooaaa" liked a stoned dumbass, or telling you that the world is going to look like Tron.
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4 Replies in this Sub-ThreadPlus, in parts of the world where this thing called "winter" happens, a snowplow would pretty much dig the whole damn panel line up after the first blizzard.
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Edited by Wenggh: 6/3/2014 1:34:16 AMThe panels are designed to have heating elements in them to keep them above freezing >.>
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That wouldn't work at all. The layer of snow immediately above the heating elements would melt, then freeze again and become a thick layer of ice. And I doubt the heaters could be hot enough to melt the additional two or three feet of snow above that initial layer. Either those heaters would need to run hotter than my barbecue with all burners on max, or you'd need to plow the remaining snow off. And break up the aforementioned six inches of solid ice on the road. I take it you don't really know what a season of heavy snow plowing can do to a road. These plows are literally chipping out chunks of asphalt here and there wherever the surface could be uneven. Additionally, the changes in temperature from warm to cold can cause the ground under the asphalt to expand and contract, cracking the asphalt. The exact same thing would happen to the panels. Short version, but if your "Save the Planet" scheme only works in California, then it's not a good plan.
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