Quote:
Originally Posted by NewChief
This post has been blowing up my Facebook feed. I'm curious what resident scientists think about this as an actual possibility?
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There's a very simple problem with this. There's no good reason, right now, why it has to be on the road.
Sure there may be some hypothetical fringe benefits with solar roads that this video really tries to hype, and they should get kudos for trying to be bold and visionary, but the expense and maintenance is insane.
If we want solar panels, we haven't run out of room to put up the cheaper, more efficient kinds, we still have a lot of roofs that can get panels and we're installing more of them every year.
Once we get to a point where most roofs that are ever going to be on the grid have panels, and once we get to the point where we don't have any more deserts and sunny desolate areas that are economical for solar farms, if at that point we STILL somehow need more solar power, then solar roads might begin to be something to look at.
The creators should continue on with their hobby though. 700 years from now when we may possibly need them, at that point it would be nice if someone was working on refining the solar road design for all those hundreds of years.