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Missing - I went to the Solar roadway website, here is the answer to the heated "panels":
"In the winter, will the solar cells be able to power the heating elements in the panels?
We designed our panels so the heaters are driven by the grid and not by the solar cells - the systems are independent of one another. This is because the heaters and LEDs have to work at night, when the solar cells are incapable of producing power."
and
"There will be some northern latitude after which it may not be worth it. On the other hand, it's hard to put a monetary value on all of the ways winter could be made more pleasant with heated roads! Each community, business owner and homeowner can make that decision for themselves. Once we are manufacturing, we envision a team of employees whose job it will be to evaluate sites for prospective customers and provide data to enable them to make the decision that is right for them."
Yeah, I read that, too. So, up in the Far North, the panel heaters would probably need to draw power from other roadways in the grid down south (assuming they panel the AlCan). It wouldn't help the islands or Juneau, etc that aren't accessible by road. Or maybe conventional power generation to tide us through the winter. If there was some massive storage system, we'd probably be able to generate enough surplus power over the summer with near constant sunlight to maybe power the grid throughout winter without tapping into the L48 production.
I'm not sure whether the ERoEI in winter would justify using them, but a decentralized power grid with fiber-optic data cabling would greatly benefit us and other remote locations. The power and enhanced comms are probably of more benefit to us in remote locations than the more civilized areas that already have a power & data grid
Not that I know this guy from Adam as they say. Or that have anything to do with the company - but it appears people are making comments without going to the website and researching it. Read the FAQ.
You would think the inventors who are from the NORTH would know that melted snow becomes ice if it isn't drained off and prevented from refreezing. And they did address that problem. In fact, they even addressed the problem of have polluted run off water as the water is treated before it is released back into the environment - something our current roads do not do. Oil, transmission, and other fluids leak onto the roadways and when it rains it drains off into our drinking water.
In fact they were even asked why bother with the North, when there is enough road and parking lot infrastructure in the South to keep them making panels for a long time - the answer was because they are from the snow in the North and wanted to make those roads, sidewalks, parking lots, and driveways SAFER by reducing accidents due to sliding.
The one thing they have NOT addressed are frost heaves and earthquakes. The panels communicate with each other, so they will know that there is a problem, but they cannot prevent those things from destroying the panels.
If you look at their test parking lot, you can see that the panels have gaps in them and that the snow melt drained off and into the "storm water" channel and that the heated panels were actually dry to the touch within a few minutes. Places that get a lot of snow all at once might take longer to melt, but that snow is normally pretty wet so it might actually melt and drain faster than it would freeze up normally. Most places that get drier snow are normally colder, so they don't normally get it all at once, and depth is usually due to accumulation and drifting over the entire season. With the smart road, it would sense when and how much snow or ice, and could turn on the heaters exactly when and where needed without having to send out a crew with equipment.
In colder climates (not just AK), it might be necessary to heat the drainage channel as well, just to keep everything flowing off the roadway. I know that we have major issues with our drainage ditches and culverts filling then freezing up during breakup, which creates ice dams across the roadway so the road crews have to come out with steam-jet trucks to melt & blast them open. A smart road would be able to regulate temps in the drainage channel as needed, if they also hooked up the culverts that pass under the roadways, they could regulate those without additional equipment or manpower as well... it would make the roads much safer!
One major benefit to the solar road after a heave, pothole, or tree/rock fall is that you can just lift out the damaged panels, or the panels over the damaged existing roadway underneath, to make the repairs and then replace the panels. Any repairs to the existing road underneath could be less extensive, and probably less frequently, because the panels themselves would form a reinforced overlayment that acts as weight distribution for traffic. Glass probably wouldn't form ruts and potholes like gravel or asphalt, and the high-traction (heated) surface would virtually eliminate the need for road-damaging studded tires. Quakes and sinkholes are just plain catastrophic to roadways, period, but at least the grid on either side of the damage would continue to function while repairs to the roadway and panel overlayment were made.
If they can figure out the logistics and get the gov't & corps (and tax payers) on board with the overhaul, the benefits definitely seem to outweigh the potential problems in the long run. I'd be so ready for induction charged EVs... never having to worry about running out of gas or power on a long trip again! Even if they only put charging stations at every rest stop and turnout, that would be a huge plus for long distance EV both commercial and commuter. Long-haul OTR trucking is one of the major hurdles to weaning off fossil fuel, but the solar roadway could overcome that. Plus, a charging station at every turnout could also have a callbox linked into emergency services, if the road itself didn't detect that there was a stranded vehicle and send out a tow truck. Wireless communications would be in place, so things like OnStar could communicate directly with the road in real time.
How are the roads going to light up at night or heat without batteries? Seems to me this product might be good for parking lots but not a road.
The whole roadway system becomes an interconnected power grid... so if it's dark or cloudy in one location, power being generated by another portion of sunny roadway will supply the lights etc on the dark/dim portion. I'm sure they will have some storage method and tie-in for conventional power generation as a backup or to supply peak deman in less than perfect conditions (just like the conventional grid does now). The solar roadway with it's attached data channel essential replaces all above-ground in disparate power and data/comm grids... no more individual power companies, no more individual phone companies, no more individual cable providers, no more individual internet providers because it's all part of the nationwide road system.
Where I really see the benefit of a smart road with sensors and built in LED is for road hazards... the road could detect your car and a blockage further down the road, and display detour instructions right in front of your car in time to reroute you. At the very least, it could give you warnings to slow down and be alert for upcoming road hazards or large/slow vehicles entering/leaving the roadway. Everything is real time... no dispatching road crews to put up signs and/or flaggers; lane markings could be altered instantaneously based on traffic conditions; speed limits could be altered based on actual traffic, weather or road conditions; traffic control indicators could be altered and updated whenever needed (i.e. a "stop" sign becomes a "yield" sign during non-peak hours, or a one-way becomes a two-way to reroute traffic).
This could really be a game changer for those out in rural areas. Reliable communication and TV.
The inventor talked about induction charging, so while you are driving you can pull power from the panels. I thought about getting an induction charger for our Volt. But since it is a lease and now there is only 2 years left, not so sure it is worth the cost. Unless we replace it with another one when the time comes.
The inventor said the panels are smart, they don't heat unless it is needed and they are designing self-cleaning glass. Chemistry-guy, they are looking for someone like you. If you are that interested, look them up and offer your services. You are a very smart person when it comes to this kind of stuff.
One thing the inventors mentioned that, even without self-cleaning glass, road surfaces wash dust & dirt fairly well via rain and the Bernoulli Principle (air pressure caused by traffic). Oil, antifreeze, steering/brake fluid may need to be cleaned off periodically, but testing shows that roadway grime results in less 10% efficiency of the panel.
Yep and then they showed pictures of completely full parking lots and bumper to bumper traffic and you start to realize that there is still a whole lot of surface area getting sun.
I also like the fact that they don't want to go public, because they do not want the pressure to make the items in China. Are looking at using as little rare earth metals as possible too.
And no worries about the strength of the glass, they designed it for super tankers or over 250,000 pounds to ride of top of them. Tested for stopping ability in the rain. Testing it using bicycles and motorcycles.
Now to see if they can make it happen or will this be vaporware forever as well?
1) What is the cost of construction of a mile of "solar highway" vs. a conventional one?
2) How much power can practically be generated, and can the value of the power make a meaningful offset in the up front cost.
3) There will be areas (particularly in the north) with a mix of conventional and solar roadways. How do these glass panels stand up to the impact of snowplow blades? To rocks being dropped on them and then driven over by a semi-tractor? To the buildup of sand/gravel used as traction in the winter? To studded tires or tire chains?
4) What kind of resources have to be consumed to build this vs conventional highways?
Neat technology and I hope it can prove cost effective. Especially since the company is in my neighborhood.
It seems to offer a lot in an urban area, where both the power distribution facilities are in place and the smart features can be utilized. Would be pretty cool to be able to reconfigure parking in urban areas say for events or to handle routing of traffic around construction or accidents. The lighted sidewalk idea is also cool. I just really queston rather it can ever be cost effective.
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