Where the Streets are Paved with Solar Panels
It hasn't happened yet. But if all of the streets, sidewalks and bike lanes in America were repaved with solar panels, these solar roads would generate three times the amount of energy that Americans use in one year. AND this would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by seventy-five percent.
Obviously this huge undertaking isn't going to happen next week or next year. But it's doable. The sooner a massive project like this gets started, the quicker.
The author of the linked article compares the skepticism directed toward massive solar energy projects to the skepticism directed at the Wright brothers before their first flight. Whether or not these two situations are comparable, there's one crucial difference. Before the Wright brothers' first flight, human flight was still just an unproven theory. Solar energy, on the other hand, is already being widely used.
The mastermind behind the idea of solar roads is Scott Brusaw of Solar Roadways. Here is the FAQ section of the Solar Roadways website.
Labels: Scott Brusaw, Solar Roadways
posted by Tom Harper @ 3:05 PM
6 Comments:
That's a great idea.
From what I could learn from the article, it sure sounds like a better idea than what we are doing now, which is NOTHING!
Jim: I hope the idea gets carried out, at some point.
Life: "Nothing" is my sentiments too. Unfortunately, for some people, drilling and fracking and mining every square inch of the county counts as "something."
The more I looked at it, we are due for a major overhaul anyway as our highways have been sorely neglected since the 50's, this may be perfect time to do it.
Erik
Supposedly here in CA we're putting a lot of solar. We have it and our bill went from being upwards of 300 bucks a month, we have a big house don't judge :) to a little more than 100 per month. We got a great deal on the solar when we put it in and we came at the time they were giving a huge tax break for putting it in. Thanks Obama :)
If this were me doing this, I would experiment with parking lots and sidewalks first, maybe at airports and Mao Marts make certain it works and doesn't get cracked or damaged before putting it on streets with drivers. Our roads here for example are terrible and are always being repaired.
Erik: Good point. As long as we already need billions of dollars and man-hours worth of road work, we might as well combine it with adding solar panels.
Jess: Glad you're paying about a third as much as you used to pay. I agree, parking lots and sidewalks first so we can get the glitches ironed out.
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