Ecotality Life

Imagine the entire US completely energy independent from fossil fuels and powered by the country’s roadway infrastructure. Sound far fetched? Not according to solar energy expert Dr. Nate Lewis of Caltech University. He has calculated that covering 1.7% of the land surface of the United States with 10 percent efficient solar energy converters could supply all our current national energy demand. As it happens, this is roughly the same amount of land that is devoted to the nation’s interstate highway system. It would even helps our roads stay ice free in the winter and glow at night. Here’s how it would work:

“Instead of covering a large area of the Southwest with solar arrays, all of our roads would be paved with glass panels that could collect and distribute solar energy. Sunlight would shine through the surface onto a middle layer of solar cells. The solar cells would produce electric energy to light the road at night and heat it in winter, with enough leftover electricity to power homes and businesses. Brusaw estimates that each mile of solar panels could power 500 homes.

4.84 billion (12′ by 12′) Solar Road Panels would be required to replace the current asphalt road system, parking lots, and driveways in the 48 contiguous states. This is enough to provide three times more electricity than the United States used in 2003 and almost enough to supply the entire world.”

Obviously, there are some major hurdles to implementing this grid network; the least of which is convincing a government tied up in fossil fuels to try it in the first place. The expense of solar cells for such a project is currently cost-prohibitive; but researchers expect this issue to disappear in the coming years as advances and efficiencies increase to make the technology cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Setting up something similar to meet electrical demand with coal fired plants would cost around $14 trillion dollars; not to mention the adverse consequences on the environment.

You can find out more on the Solar Roads project here.

[UPDATE] The co-creator of the Solar Road Projects answered criticism over the project’s viability over on Reddit.com. I’ve posted his response after the MORE button>>>

>>I’m Scott Brusaw, co-inventor and project director of the Solar Roadways project.

I appreciate the discussion. If you go to my website, most of the criticisms given here are addressed, www.solarroadways.com.

Concerns were expressed about costs. The target cost for a 12’ by12’ Solar Road panel is $10K (USD), which is competitive with current (actually 2006) costs of asphalt roads. The most realistic number we could place on the cost per square foot of asphalt road (in the US) was $16.00 (this does not include maintenance or snow removal). We met with the director of the Idaho Transportation Department and presented this number to him after finding it on the Internet. After thinking it through for a mile of roadway, he came to the conclusion that it was “in the ball park”. If correct, then a 12’ by 12’ section of asphalt road costs (12×12x16) $2304 to build. Unfortunately, the average US road is only designed to last seven years before it must be ripped up and repaved. We’re designing our Solar Road Panels to last over 20 years, so in fairness, you’d have to triple the cost of the asphalt roads (3 x $2304 = $6912) for a real comparison. So we’re at $6912 for (what I like to call) “dumb asphalt” roads – they just sit there and absorb heat and return nothing but potholes and heartache. Keep in mind that eliminating the need for coal-fired power plants and (God-forbid) nuclear power plants, we can roll all of the money that would be spent on future power plants into the Solar Roadways. Consider too, that the Solar Road Panels will be generating and distributing power (along with cable TV, telephone, high-speed internet access, etc.) to homes and businesses everywhere. It is difficult to calculate the cost savings over today’s conventional delivery methods, but I think it’s fair to say that this brings the costs of asphalt and Solar Road Panels into the same ballpark. The money is going to be spent anyway- repaving and maintaining our current roads, parking lots, and driveways. Why not get something out of it (clean, renewable energy among other things) and solve the climate crisis in the process?

One person mentioned building solar panels over the highways. That would simply double the cost of current road construction and not solve the problem of, “what are we going to replace the asphalt with?”

In April, Penn State invited me to attend the 1st International Workshop on Scientific Challenges of New Functionalities in Glass in Arlington, Virginia. I presented our Solar Roadways project to the group, and made some interesting contacts. I was invited to travel to Penn State’s Research Institute to present our project to their faculty. Walt Mills, from Penn State, wrote a nice article about the entire trip. You can see the article at: http://www.mri.psu.edu/focus/v05/highways.asp

I learned a great deal about glass during this trip. I had no idea how many properties and uses glass had. For instance, self-cleaning glass exists, which may solve the problem of keeping it clear of road grime.

I’d be happy to respond to other questions or comments….

Thanks, Scott Brusaw www.solarroadways.com>>

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