[cdad]

It looks like from this video there has been a marriage made in heaven. Now if it can only be implimented it would work out to be a solution to the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlTA3rnpgzU

[paraclete]

Yeh I heard about it before, great concept, but I doubt there is that much silicon in the world. I expect there are special problems where there is ice and snow but it would work great where I live, so major highways maybe to allow electric cars long distance travel. also solar cells have finite life so relaying the road system every ten years

[cdad]

Yeh I heard about it before, great concept, but I doubt there is that much silicon in the world. I expect there are special problems where there is ice and snow but it would work great where I live, so major highways maybe to allow electric cars long distance travel. also solar cells have finite life so relaying the road system every ten years

It was in there about ice and snow. They have kits for them so they stay above freezing. No more frozen roads where its cold.

[J_9]

I don't see it possible in places like Alaska where snow can fall 2-3 feet in an hour.

[paraclete]

It's a wonderful dream, but practically I cannot see the whole road system converted

[cdad]

I don't see it possible in places like Alaska where snow can fall 2-3 feet in an hour.

It may be possible since it is a heated element. The temprature would be above freezing. The snow would melt when it hits the surface.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways#home

Solar Roadways - The Numbers

Solar Roadways - FAQ

[paraclete]

this needs a complete change in technology do you have any idea how much CO2 is generated to smelt silicon, to do this would completely defeat the idea of reducing emissions

[NeedKarma]

I was watching the Giro the last couple of weeks and they lots of helicopter shots. I'm always surprised by the sheer amount of rooftop solar panels on businesses, homes and public buildings. Is that mostly climate related, or culture related?

[ebaines]

As an engineer these types of ideas make me cringe. Yes, it may be possible to melt some snow, if (a) the ambient temp isn't too cold, (b) snow or sleet is falling at a reasonably slow rate, and (c) there are sufficient batteries to store prodigious amounts of electrical energy (remember, if it's snowing that means it's not sunny out, so the energy to melt the snow must be stored). Back-of-the-envelope calculation: snow falling at 2 inches/hour at 20 degrees F would require about 420 watts per square meter of roadway to melt and flow off. Efficient solar panels typically produce about 200 watts per square meter, so if it's snowing on a nice sunny day (!) then solar panels can account for about half the energy required. Some other source of power is needed - for a 24-meter wide 4-lane roadway it would require an energy source of about 4.8 megawatts per kilometer of road - wow! This idea is a non-starter.

[talaniman]

Melting snow is but one small part of grid upgrades and power production/transmissions. Energy without the mess is well worth exploring. Alaska ain't that great during a blizzard as it is.

Add to the debate,

LOW-TECH MAGAZINE: The ugly side of solar panels

Use solar panels to produce solar panels

A better strategy would be to use already available solar panels to produce more solar panels. The scientists calculated that the ecological burden of solar panels can be halved if 100 percent of energy in the factories would be delivered by solar energy.
I did not do the calculations for air pollution and heavy metals, but since these are mainly produced by energy use for production, the conclusions must be similar.

[paraclete]

I was watching the Giro the last couple of weeks and they lots of helicopter shots. I'm always surprised by the sheer amount of rooftop solar panels on businesses, homes and public buildings. Is that mostly climate related, or culture related?

Solar panels have become very popular since the chinese began to make them cheaply, this phenomenom isn't confined to Europe, the uptake is so strong here we have not found it necessary to build any new power stations in years and they are even begun mothballing them