February 9, 2023
SIMPLE ECONOMICS:
THIS COMPANY WANTS TO TURN OUR STREETS INTO 'SOLAR ROADWAYS' THAT COULD CREATE CHEAP, CLEAN ENERGY AS WE DRIVE ON THEM (Terrell Worrell, February 9, 2023, The Cool Down)
Solar Roadways claims that its panels will make the "first roadway system with a return on investment," modernize the nation's infrastructure with modular, energy-producing, smart panels, and may eventually help charge electric vehicles while they drive. These lofty goals rest heavily on the Solar Road Panels themselves and their ability to perform under pressure (often literal tons of pressure, in the case of trucks).The latest model is a 48-watt panel that weighs about 70 pounds, has 280 multicolored LEDs to flash words and signals, can be swapped out in "a few minutes," and is designed to last for 20 years. The company is working on weight sensors that will be integrated with panel LEDs to warn motorists of road hazards ahead.Solar Roadways envisions these high-tech streets as a potential, decentralized "smart grid" that can store energy in batteries or use a virtual storage system in which extra energy is given to the grid during sunny days and is redrawn at night.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 9, 2023 12:00 AM