# Solar Freaking Roadways... again. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051 "2017-05-20T01:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051/41 "2019-12-04T04:20:37Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > The economics aren’t great it most places, which is about 99% of the problem. We had a solar panel company try to sell us on rooftop solar here in central Ohio, and based on the current (low) energy prices due to fracking and the limited southern sun exposure that comes with being at 40 degrees latitude… At a similar latitude to yours, northern California’s major hospital chain has been (slowly) solar-roofing its many parking lots since 2008. They claim to provide circa 50% of each site’s power. I’ve noticed a few tech-biz campuses with such solar parking around greater Sacramento, which doesn’t always boast clear skies. > [@Ruken](#): > > Are my taxes paying for this shit? If NASA is buying, that suggests they are. :smack: Your taxes pay for much more and much worse shit than this. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051/42 "2019-12-04T06:18:50Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > At a similar latitude to yours, northern California’s major hospital chain has been (slowly) solar-roofing its many parking lots since 2008. They claim to provide circa 50% of each site’s power. I’ve noticed a few tech-biz campuses with such solar parking around greater Sacramento, which doesn’t always boast clear skies. > Your taxes pay for much more and much worse shit than this. 😛 By gummit, we’ll have solar panels on the moon before I stand to see my tax dollars go to paving roads with solar panels on Earth! And lest anyone think I’m mocking posters who have expressed doubt about the NASA parking lot initiative, I actually would rather see my tax dollars going to put solar panels (and other things associated with economic development) on the moon than to projects on Earth that are not economically viable. When the moon starts to pay off, it’ll pay off big. It’s just a question of to whom, and when. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051/43 "2019-12-04T12:29:42Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > At a similar latitude to yours, northern California’s major hospital chain has been (slowly) solar-roofing its many parking lots since 2008. They claim to provide circa 50% of each site’s power. I’ve noticed a few tech-biz campuses with such solar parking around greater Sacramento, which doesn’t always boast clear skies. I also mentioned the F word, which is a key component to solar’s difficulty providing a reasonable ROI on the east coast. I don’t know what the fracking situation is in Cali, but here in Ohio it’s rampant. Natural gas is cheap, and therefore my grid electricity is cheap. Solar is a tough sell. That’s not to say there aren’t solar projects here, but they’re generally PR or environmentally driven, not financially motivated. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051/44 "2019-12-04T12:43:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Why not instead put solar panels above the cars in the parking lot, so they’re never covered and they provide shade to the cars? [That was innovative last year.](https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2018/carport-solar-array-receives-2018-innovative-project-award/) This year, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051/45 "2019-12-04T13:25:51Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > I also mentioned the F word, which is a key component to solar’s difficulty providing a reasonable ROI on the east coast. I don’t know what the fracking situation is in Cali, but here in Ohio it’s rampant. Natural gas is cheap, and therefore my grid electricity is cheap. Solar is a tough sell. Natural gas is cheaper in California than in most east coast states ([cite](https://www.americanactionforum.org/highmap/natural-gas-prices-state/)). Ohio gets a below-average share of its electricity from gas ([cite](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/24/climate/how-electricity-generation-changed-in-your-state.html)). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051/46 "2019-12-04T13:33:50Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > At a similar latitude to yours, northern California’s major hospital chain has been (slowly) solar-roofing its many parking lots since 2008. They claim to provide circa 50% of each site’s power. I’ve noticed a few tech-biz campuses with such solar parking around greater Sacramento, which doesn’t always boast clear skies. Sacramento [gets a lot of sun](https://www.nrel.gov/gis/images/solar/solar_ghi_2018_usa_scale_01.jpg) compared to anywhere in Ohio. The only comparable place in California is a little strip around…Crescent City? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-freaking-roadways-again/787051.md?page=2)