Solar FREAKING Roadways!!

[Forgon]

And how many LED do you think you need? You're vindicating me at this point you understand.

It's minimal in comparison to the amount of plastic used in other things. This is my point.

Maybe .001% is plastic. Yes, this would still be MASSIVE, but it wouldn't be outrageous compared to other things.

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And then it's full of electronics. Electronics break eventually and can be vandalised as well, guess maintenance would still be as huge a factor as road maintenance is today. Where exactly is the difference between a broken up road piece and a defect multifunctional solar panel? There is none - both require work that'll probably not be done or pushed back as long as possible due to budget issues.

Maintenance is good, keeps jobs.

[Deleted]

Great so cars run over glass, the glass breaks and crumbles and pops tires. Sounds wonderful to me! What we have now works great and is inexpensive. You tree huggers need to go away instead of grasping for straws, inventing cockamamie ideas and raising costs for all of us in the name of the environment

Watch the video. No, really, actually watch it, because you obviously haven't. Fossil fuel is finite, it'll run out at some point, we're already fighting over resources. The panels have had their durability tested and approved, they're an amazing idea, and I've backed this project.

(Also, claiming that asphalt is ''inexpensive'', your ignorance knows no bounds.)

[MerinPally]

It's minimal in comparison to the amount of plastic used in other things. This is my point.

Maybe .001% is plastic. Yes, this would still be MASSIVE, but it wouldn't be outrageous compared to other things.

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Maintenance is good, keeps jobs.

Where are you getting this figure for plastic from or are you inventing it in an attempt to make your idea sound better? No, maintenance is NOT good. Maintenance is EXPENSIVE, what you want is to build something and never have to look at it again.

[Forgon]

Watch the video. No, really, actually watch it, because you obviously haven't. Fossil fuel is finite, it'll run out at some point, we're already fighting over resources. The panels have had their durability tested and approved, they're an amazing idea, and I've backed this project.

Thank you for actually watching the video!

It's amazing, and all these questions are answered!

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Where are you getting this figure for plastic from or are you inventing it in an attempt to make your idea sound better? No, maintenance is NOT good. Maintenance is EXPENSIVE, what you want is to build something and never have to look at it again.

Oh right.. Because roads today are so "built and never touch it again"
They would definitely be lots more durable than roads today.

No we need to maintain jobs, it would be a good effect over the years.

[cityguy193]

Great so cars run over glass, the glass breaks and crumbles and pops tires. Sounds wonderful to me! What we have now works great and is inexpensive. You tree huggers need to go away instead of grasping for straws, inventing cockamamie ideas and raising costs for all of us in the name of the environment

Tempered glass is stronger than asphalt in some cases.
But your 2 cents is greatly appreciated here, even if you do not read or watch anything related to the topic before posting.

[Orlong]

It's not window glass... There are glasses out there which can easily hold the weight of cars. Cracking is not the problem, it's just how much stuff you'd need to make these solar roads. It's been thought of before, it's just hugely expensive an operation to undertake and takes colossal amounts of fossil fuels to make all the required plastics. And then there's maintenance...

And the traffic headaches for DECADES as they shut down roads to replace the asphalt with these things

[Mayhem]

They have to pay people to do this... The money isn't going straight to one guy, it would essentially recycled through the economy.

who is they and where did they get the money from? do you have any idea how much a trillion is? and then times 56? i mean we´re talking about nearly the gdp of the world here to just pave the roads of one country... that will work

[gamz247]

They did test this on a small scale. It was done through a 2 stage process funded by the government already. And they have passed all test with flying colors.

What does "small scale" mean? I want to know how it performs when a driver is going around a bend at 60 mph in the pouring rain.

[MerinPally]

Oh right.. Because roads today are so "built and never touch it again"
They would definitely be lots more durable than roads today.

No we need to maintain jobs, it would be a good effect over the years.

Roads today are built and can be repaired (relatively) cheaply and easily. Unlike the suggestion. And no, you want to make jobs for the economy - a company however, does not, a company wants to reduce jobs and automate/make redundant as many jobs as possible, because then they don't have to pay anyone. Even if these glass roads can be repaired more easily and cheaply (doubtful) then it still does not offset the cost of installation.

[Forgon]

And the traffic headaches for DECADES as they shut down roads to replace the asphalt with these things

This mentality is seriously terrible!

This would advantageous for energy independence, and all your concerned about is how it will affect the preset. When it would be be the single greatest advantage for the future. Exactly like the combustion engine.

[gamz247]

BTW, where are you getting this information? It's the first I've heard.

They had an article about it in the Washington Post. Let me see if I can find it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ext-big-thing/

[Krek01]

A neat idea, but it seems very impractical.

[Orlong]

I don't see this being possible for say, interstate highways but for a city the size of Boston, Providence or Little Rock it's possible.

It all comes down to cost.

In comparison, more and more people are putting Solar Panels on their homes. The electricity generated from Solar Panels on just one house provides enough electricity to power an entire city block for a month. I might be a bit off with my figure without the data to back it up but Solar Energy is a renewable and clean energy source that can be maintained indefinitely.

Sorry, but your wrong. Besides the fact that solar panels make your house look ugly, they cant even generate enough electricity to sustain the house they are on let alone a city block. Most people in my town that have them still have to supplement their electricity with an energy company. So instead of paying a $200 a month electric bill, they pay $30 with solar panels.

[Forgon]

Roads today are built and can be repaired (relatively) cheaply and easily. Unlike the suggestion. And no, you want to make jobs for the economy - a company however, does not, a company wants to reduce jobs and automate/make redundant as many jobs as possible, because then they don't have to pay anyone. Even if these glass roads can be repaired more easily and cheaply (doubtful) then it still does not offset the cost of installation.

Look, before you assert these: They probably haven't thought of this! stuff. Actually research it yourself.

I don't want to get into a "what if" battle, but the thing is, all of what you are saying can be solved, if it hasn't already been thought of.

[Grizzelbar]

Sorry to pop your bubble, but not going to happen. Not when you are competing with a money source that can fund wars and complete governmental overhauls basically anywhere in the world.

[Deleted]

the concept is great
maintainance seems to be easier then with our current roads, just replacing the broken tiles.
BUT how are we supposed to get that started?
the cost to start this seem sooooo huuuuugggeeeeee.
sure, it will pay for itself eventually by generating electricity, but before that you still have to pay for those things.

i think the most viable way of using these would be to use them where new roads are built and only replacing existing roads slowly. that way we can increase the efficiency of the production and building roads with them.
but having all roads replaced with this will take some decades. probably not even in our lifetime

[Kasierith]

My only concern with these would be the cost, especially the maintanance. While the glass won't break, it will still get physically marred by coming and going traffic, and thus on top of the initial cost will need consistent maintanance. It would also require a widespread, massive boost to infrastructure, one that would cost a great deal of time and energy as well as cutting off some routes and thus be an inconvenience to some.

Personally, I think it's a good idea, but at 4.4 million/mile cost before maintanance, grading, installation costs, etc,it would probably just be more convenient to have solar panels used more frequently on buildings.

Great so cars run over glass, the glass breaks and crumbles and pops tires. Sounds wonderful to me! What we have now works great and is inexpensive. You tree huggers need to go away instead of grasping for straws, inventing cockamamie ideas and raising costs for all of us in the name of the environment

Yes, because all glass is so so fragile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletproof_glass . Honestly, try breaking a sheet of fused quartz with your bare hands.

As for "tree huggers," sorry but the evidence that global warming is real and an imminent threat to our species is so overwhelming that the only reason not to believe it is extreme levels of political bias against someone who ran for president 14 years ago.

[Wildtree]

Great so cars run over glass, the glass breaks and crumbles and pops tires.

this is a very highly intelligent response..
it speaks for itself.. lol

What we have now works great and is inexpensive.

No, neither is the case.
Neither does it work, since the current system needs constant maintenance. And the only thing that makes the current system cheap is it's neglect and the lack of proper maintenance. The country's roads are in second and third world quality conditions. Only a small fraction of them are top maintained.

[MerinPally]

Sorry, but your wrong. Besides the fact that solar panels make your house look ugly, they cant even generate enough electricity to sustain the house they are on let alone a city block. Most people in my town that have them still have to supplement their electricity with an energy company. So instead of paying a $200 a month electric bill, they pay $30 with solar panels.

The rate of development in the area of science that is photovoltaic cells is astronomical. Today this may be the case but it's already crossed the line on an industrial scale, and is soon to on a residential scale.

[Forgon]

A neat idea, but it seems very impractical.

HOW? Please look at the facts and questions page.

What have you thought of that seems "impractical"

If anything, this is the single greatest possibility for energy independence ever to come across as VIALBE!