Solar Freakin' Roadways!

That was the tagline on a video that made it's viral way around Facebook and the Internet.  The video was a promotion of an idea that some wiseacre in Europe thought would make a great replacement for roadways!

Imagine that instead of boring asfalt, cars would drive overtop of real solar panels, which would also generate power, when not being covered by cars!

It was inevitable that someone would come up with the idea, I mean, they are making solar roof tiles (an actual good idea!) and putting some type of film on the sides of giant buildings that can harvest some energy.  Why not use every surface available to try and generate power?

Well, just like the idea of strapping wings on your back, and jumping off a cliff, the execution of an idea is the REAL test, and this is where solar roadways fall into a giant pile of cow turds.

Leave it to the French to build silly things... they actually built a solar roadway, and now it exists for the rest of us to look at and think about.

According to this article from Arstechnica, the very first 1 km solar roadway is open for traffic.  The solar panels only cover one lane though, and the cost?  More than $5,200,000!  The problem is that the road has to do two very unrelated jobs, which are: collect and convert solar energy, and hold very heavy motor vehicle traffic.

Join me today as I mercilessly destroy this idea and everything about it, and then give a few ways that roads and pathways COULD actually be used to generate power.

Today's takeway:  If you are expecting the government to solve the energy crisis and bring renewables into the 21st Century, you will be waiting a very, very long time.  The Free Market is the real test of any new product, and this Solar Roadway just doesn't meet the profit test!

No Show this Friday, as I am just hammered with work, but watch for a new episode Monday!

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