Solar Roadways 2.0?
Y’all missing the whole point here.
If an area requires covering, it might as well produce some power. And cells on the ground aren’t as bad as they’re made out.
I have one laying flat in the yard powering a 12V water pump. Been there for 6-months, covered in pollen and dust, weeds growing over one side, grass cuttings on top, never cleaned, works fine. I have another on my shed roof at our camp. Same deal with the pollen and dust, works fine. But guess which one is easier to clean?
Cells don’t have to be pristine to produce power. And if you do want to clean them? The installation pictured looks easy to work with a garden hose and squeegee, couldn’t take 30 minutes. Use concrete instead? OK, now you have to power wash it. What a pain.
The image of benches shading the panels really says all you need to know.
This depends on what you’re optimizing for. If you are optimizing for total energy captured per square metre, then you’re right about the benches.
But suppose you have a sufficient flux even with some areas being covered so you aren’t bothered by the shadows. Wouldn’t it be aesthetically superior to have uniform tile types? Or would you prefer they micromanage the tile placement such that the tiles below the bench shadows are different?
Anyway, I think it is a good idea. Better than the silly solar roadways crap.
Literally just put them 2 and a half meters higher so they provide shade for sitting in the bench instead of people shading the panels.
True, they should use benches like these for solar rays to pass through
Solar freakin roadways
Not freakin again.
does anyone know where I can get strong opinions about solar rods?
Oohh, solar roadways, part 4621559
Trailer: they suck, don’t work, and are made by people who have no idea what the fuck they’re doing
For fuck sake!
Put solar on roofs, not where people walk/drive!
Can we please stop wasting resources on this shit?
Can’t they just make it a roof?
Yeah feels already hot from just looking at it
And put some goddamn plants under it.
We need more trees and green areas in cities to shade and cool them down, not more heat soaking open areas that heat them up!
When are they going to learn that solar roads are never going to be practical?
PV Magazine is more or less an outlet for press releases by companies trying to innovate (often in air quotes) with photovoltaics. I’m honestly not even sure why it’s allowed here; it’s completely uncritical. May as well cite a press release on the manufacturer’s website at that point instead of laundering it through a magazine.
never use solar panels for side walks its a stupid idea. and there is a reason why solar panels are placed at angle and not flat on the ground.
Hope the predicted capability is realistic. As previously we’ve seen comparable projects be less so: https://www.dutchnews.nl/2023/07/solar-bike-path-fails-to-meet-electricity-targets-again/
