Solar roads were promised to be one of the biggest unprecedented revolutions of our time, not just in the field of renewable energy but in the energy sector generally.Covering 2,800 square meters, Normandy's solar road was the first in the world, inaugurated in 2016, in Tourouvre-au-Perche, France.Despite the hype surrounding solar roads, two years after this one was introduced as a trial, the project has turned out to be a colossal failure — it's neither efficient nor profitable, according to a report by Le Monde.
Are there any such roads living up to the hype?
Well I mean why would you put sensitive electronics where they're going to be run over by semi trucks on a regular basis? It seems to me that it would be better to build a regular road and then put solar panels on stilts above it, which would make it nice and shady. I like shade....
ReplyDeleteI suspect that a lot of solar projects are failing. Most days I pass this bank of solar cells on the side of the highway. There is a big sign connecting them to a local school.
ReplyDeleteBUT, I think that the project has been abandoned. There are trees and/or other green growing plants blocking parts of the panels.I think that the plants are bigger than they were last year
Anyone with even half of a science education knew that "Solar Roadways" was a scam from the moment of inception. Treat yourself to the epic debunkings from Thunderf00t:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/user/Thunderf00t/search?query=roadway
Start from the oldest to see exactly how much BS was pumped into this from the beginning.
We had a solar water heater on our previous home. The only way we could afford it is because my husband worked for a company repping Seiman's and he and a friend installed it. 20 years later, I drove by the house and the solar cells are gone. We've have a bevy of people coming by offering to put up solar panels "for free" claiming we would save so much money. It's a lie. The amount of money saved per month will never pay for the solar cell before its lifespan is done. There's also the issue of placement. We've seen cells mounted under overhanging trees, facing the wrong direction and generally poorly installed. Solar can work for some applications that would require running electrical lines-ranch gates and signs come to mind. But for most applications solar is not efficient enough to make it worth the money. I do hold out hope for something like Tesla's solar roof applications, but I don't trust Elon Musk and will wait for another group to get a system created
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