# Solar FREAKIN' Roadways! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129 "2014-05-23T22:11:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/61 "2014-05-25T02:26:17Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Well, sure! The LEDs will display a moving frisbee for the dog to chase, print lessons in the lane, and under panel A345721 you’ll find a roast. So _that’s_ what happens to the roadkill! ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/62 "2014-05-25T02:34:52Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > So _that’s_ what happens to the roadkill! I wonder if animals will freak out when they step on the road and it lights up and starts blinking everywhere they step. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/63 "2014-05-25T03:49:57Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > That video made me what to crank up a Chinese made Russian run coal fueled nuclear reactor just for spite. Hmmm…“Coal-fueled nuclear reactor”…out of spite… Challenge accepted. To the drawing board! ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/64 "2014-05-25T04:15:23Z")
I think it’s really cool. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/65 "2014-05-25T04:22:15Z")
Shit idea for energy production. Great idea for a Kickstarter swindle. If it doesn’t step too much outside the boundaries of this thread, can we list how it makes a good Kickstarter swindle? I’ll start: 1. It’s environmental. 2. It can be spun as providing lots of jobs. 3. It uses technology 4. It would change the look of something that’s rather pedestrian-looking and make it shiny and sciency. 5. It makes it look like there is an easy solution that’s been right underneath our nose this whole time and now we’ve realized we can do something about it. Any of this sound true? Perhaps a different formulation would be more accurate or insightful? What else is there? ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/66 "2014-05-25T05:01:48Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > I think it’s really cool. The basic _idea_ is cool, but there is no way in Hell it would work. First off, these things, as they are described, would cost more energy than they produce. One square meter of unfiltered sunlight on the Earth’s surface contains a bit more than one horsepower worth of energy, but the absolute best, cutting edge solar panels we have can only capture less than fifty percent of that. That’s not enough to power a car. A Toyota Prius has 140 HP, so if it got it’s energy purely from solar in ridiculously optimum conditions, it would need 280 square meters of perfect sunshine just to use that HP. That’s a bit impractical. “But” you might say, “it will still provide _some_ energy. That’s a good thing, right?”. If we were having this hypothetical conversation I would say that yes, that would be a good thing, but the system as described would be an energy debt. Take the ice and snow claim as the most obvious reason why. If the device is covered in snow, it is not going to be capturing any solar energy. So the energy to melt the snow has to come from someplace outside of that device. Energy debt. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/67 "2014-05-25T05:08:00Z")
It’s connected to the energy grid to run it at night and melt snow & ice. You didn’t really think it was going to magically collect cosmic rays during those times did you? ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/68 "2014-05-25T05:11:24Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > There would be lots of joins between the tiles. Will this make for a noisy ride on highways? I would say yes, among other problems all those joint are gonna cause. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/69 "2014-05-25T05:11:47Z")
**levdrakon** , that’s kinda my point. As described, it is going to have to tap into the grid because it will use more power than it produces. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/70 "2014-05-25T05:23:35Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > …First off, these things, as they are described, would cost more energy than they produce… If they mass-produced them in China the costs would be much lower. > [@](#): > > One square meter of unfiltered sunlight on the Earth’s surface contains a bit more than one horsepower worth of energy, but the absolute best, cutting edge solar panels we have can only capture less than fifty percent of that. That’s not enough to power a car. A Toyota Prius has 140 HP, so if it got it’s energy purely from solar in ridiculously optimum conditions, it would need 280 square meters of perfect sunshine just to use that HP. That’s a bit impractical. They said something like that if it was used on ALL of the roads it would generate more electricity than is used in the whole country. A lot of roads aren’t filled with cars. BTW already there are solar panels on roofs or just in the desert. Solar panels covering a house’s roof can be enough to power the house. So the roads out the front of the house would nearly be as big. > [@](#): > > …Take the ice and snow claim as the most obvious reason why. If the device is covered in snow, it is not going to be capturing any solar energy. So the energy to melt the snow has to come from someplace outside of that device. Energy debt. I’m not really interested in the part about the snow since I don’t encounter any snow. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/71 "2014-05-25T05:23:50Z")
Here’s a link to how weather impacts roads with info about deaths, injuries and some economic impacts. I’m tired right now so I’ll just post the link for later. [http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/q1\_roadimpact.htm](http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/q1_roadimpact.htm) ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/72 "2014-05-25T05:26:23Z")
BTW Tesla is planning on having solar powered recharging stations: [http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/tesla-goes-combines-hanergy-supercharger-network-china-96578](http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/tesla-goes-combines-hanergy-supercharger-network-china-96578) Putting the solar cells on the road means a lot more solar cells. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/73 "2014-05-25T05:29:45Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > There would be lots of joins between the tiles. Will this make for a noisy ride on highways? The glass covering also seems to have a lot of bumps. But it also means good traction. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/74 "2014-05-25T05:42:17Z")
There’s another reason why this won’t work, and it’s ridiculously obvious. Roofing. Sure, you can look at a flat road surface and think “I bet that catches a bit of sun”. And you would be right, it does. However, the place to start is roofs. We can’t even get that to work right yet, so there’s no way roads are going to work. Start with replacing an asphalt shingle - not an asphalt roadway. ETA: I see **JohnClay** mentioned roofs, but I think my point still holds. Roofs are far simpler than roads. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/75 "2014-05-25T05:52:27Z")
Yeah I guess roofs should be done first. I was quite caught up in the youtube video - they didn’t really talk about roofs as far as I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/76 "2014-05-25T06:02:06Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > Yeah I guess roofs should be done first. I was quite caught up in the youtube video - they didn’t really talk about roofs as far as I can recall. Yeah. Again, solar roads aren’t a _bad_ idea. I just don’t think the tech is even in the ballpark for that yet. Couple that with the claims that they make (how the fuck is a durable solar panel supposed to clean water? ), and I just can’t take their design ideas seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/77 "2014-05-25T09:41:27Z")
This is almost, but not quite as dumb as the “skyscraper farms” idea that was being floated a couple of years ago and suffers from the same fundamental inability to perform basic arithmetic. The misconception this is trying to promote is that the limit to solar power is a lack of space for solar panels when it’s laughably not. The limit to solar power right now is bringing costs down and manufacturing capacity up, not an inability to figure out where to put these things. We don’t need roads to lay solar panels down on since we have about a billion better places to put them, namely, roofs. Take any part of this proposal you want and just shift to putting them on roofs instead of roads. It’s better in every single way, cost, ease of installation, ease of maintenance, power efficiency, etc. The only factor it’s not better is sexiness, which is the only reason these idiots are putting forth this daffy proposal. The degree of uncriticality which the media takes these proposals makes me sad. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/78 "2014-05-25T10:41:52Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > **levdrakon** , that’s kinda my point. As described, it is going to have to tap into the grid because it will use more power than it produces. To play devil’s advocate, the question is whether or not the entire roadway grid overall uses more energy than it produces over time, not whether an individual tile will do so at all times. Also, I think I recall seeing mention somewhere of storage batteries in the roadside conduit. Of course batteries have their own complications. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/79 "2014-05-25T14:00:02Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > The glass covering also seems to have a lot of bumps. But it also means good traction. They clearly mean to drive only bicycles and those 1000-MPG car things on it, not real traffic that might hit speeds where a segmented surface will have interesting effects. > [@davidm](#): > > Also, I think I recall seeing mention somewhere of storage batteries in the roadside conduit. Of course batteries have their own complications. Now THAT’S new… having to stop the car to change the batteries in the road. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129/80 "2014-05-25T14:15:28Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I like the “you don’t need to paint it, we’ll just program lights for lanes, signals, et cetera.” Yeah, that’ll be great the first time a controller has a kernel panic and several miles of roadway has a system fault. And seriously, concrete conduits running on both sides of every road for cable lays? Does the narrator have any idea of the ecological impact of laying that much concrete, or what it would take to keep those tunnels clear of water and debris during rainy seasons? > > Programmable, solar-powered roads are a neat concept, but until the technology is simple and robust enough to be laid down in bulk like macadam, it isn’t remotely feasible as anything but a novelty. > > Stranger Adding new dimension to “Blue Screen of Death.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freakin-roadways/689129.md?page=5)