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Riding The Solar Roadway To A Green Future

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Gettin’ Your Kicks On A Green Route 66

Light-TestThe U.S. highway system is broken. We’re barely keeping up with the costs of maintaining our roads and bridges. A gamble we lose at times, with tragic results. New materials and technologies have to be found to replace our current archaic system. Well, now hear this —

Solar Roadways based in Sagle, Idaho has developed an innovative solar road technology called Solar Road Panels™, that is going from the drawing board to prototype production. In August the Department of Transportation awarded the project $100,000 to construct the first 12′ (3.6 meters) by 12′ panel.

The Solar Road Panel (designed by Solar Roadways founder Scott Brusaw), is a series of structurally-engineered solar panels that are driven upon and is meant to replace petroleum-based asphalt on roads, current driveways, parking lots, and all road systems, be they interstate highways, state routes, downtown streets, residential streets, or even plain dirt or gravel country roads. Each energy-generating panel consists of three basic layers:

Road Surface Layer – translucent and high-strength, it is rough enough to provide great traction, yet still passes sunlight through to the solar collector cells. It is capable of handling today’s heaviest loads under the worst of conditions. Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer beneath it. And did I mention no more potholes? Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Electronics Layer – Contains a large array of solar cells, LEDs, “Super” or “Ultra” capacitors that store the sun’s energy for later use, heating elements, on-board microprocessor controls lighting, communications, monitoring, etc. Made up mostly of recycled water bottles, tires, etc.

solar-panel-highway-2Base Plate Layer – Distributes power (collected from the electronics layer) and data signals (phone, TV, internet, etc.) “downline” to all homes and businesses connected to the Solar Roadway. The power and data signals are passed through each of the four sides of the base plate layer. Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer above it.

The embedded LEDs “paint” the travel lines and lane markers from beneath to provide safer nighttime driving, as well as to give up to the minute instructions (via the road) to drivers (i.e. “detour ahead”). The road will be able to sense wildlife on the road and can warn drivers to “slow down”. There will also be embedded heating elements to prevent snow and ice buildup, providing for safer winter driving. Cities will no longer have the expense of snow removal and the problems caused by the chemicals (salt, magnesium chloride, etc.) used to maintain clear roads.

In case of damage such as lightening strikes, each panel is equipped with a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter), which would shut off as soon as a current surge was detected by the microprocessors in the undamaged neighboring panels. Say the lightning does some significant damage: a hole is blown clear through the panel. It would be electrically isolated and the surrounding panels could toggle the LEDs bordering the damaged panel. This would “paint” a square around the damaged panel to warn drivers of the danger. Oncoming drivers would be warned of the brief detour. Plus, no power outage – not even a disruption of service to any electrical customers and instantly illuminated warnings.

The Solar Roadway is completely decentralized. Every panel can generate, store, and pass electricity “down line” to homes and businesses. The road becomes the power grid, eliminating the need for unsightly utility poles and relay stations. Power is generated everywhere – every road, parking lot, and driveway. No more power outages, roaming or otherwise. This is “secure” energy – it can’t be deliberately shut down. Not by terrorists, not by power companies, it simply can’t be shut down. Decentralizing the production of electricity can also make the grid more resilient and save some of the 400 billion kilowatt-hours now lost while current flows through long-distance transmission lines to the nation’s households.

Since the power lines will be in essense underground, it will prevent power outages from downed lines due to ice accumulation, severe storms, or high winds.

Solar RoadwayNo more unsightly utility poles or relay stations because all power lines are replaced by Solar Road Panels. Data (telephone, cable TV, high-speed internet access, etc.) is contained within the same Solar Road Panels and delivered right to your home/business via your driveway/parking lot.

It will make all-electric vehicles practical, since the Solar Roadway carries electricity, electric cars can be recharged at any conveniently located rest stop along the way, or at any business that incorporates Solar Road Panels in their parking lots (restaurants for instance). Just plug your car in and recharge while you’re eating or shopping.

Costing about $7,000 per panel, the Solar Roadway will pay for itself through the generation of clean electricity and data delivery while providing safer driving conditions. The same money that is being used to build and resurface asphalt roads can be used to build the Solar Roadways. Plus most parts in the Solar Road Panels are reusable/recyclable.

If the entire US Interstate system made use of the panels, energy would no longer be a concern for the country. The Solar Roadway would take roughly five billion 12′ by 12′ Solar Road Panels just to cover the roads, parking lots, and driveways in the United States. Causing, as the company states: The creation of so many new jobs that it may very well become the “New Deal” of the 21st century. We can retrain workers from obsolete jobs such as coal miners and asphalt workers with new “Green Collar” jobs. In just the final assembly alone it could put 2,500,000 people to work full-time for ten years.

This feature packed system will become an intelligent highway that will double as a secure, intelligent, decentralized, self-healing power grid. Generating 7.6 kilowatt hours of power per panel each day allowing a single four-lane, one-mile road to provide enough power to take 500 homes off-grid.

I really hope the prototype works because …. I LIKE IT!!

….. as the green future unfolds.


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