Kinetic and solar pathways coming to Bedfordshire

[hooker1uk]

A bit of an ambitious first post to the EEVBlog forums but it has to be (hi all)

My local council sent me an email about high tech roads, and while I'm happy the council are happy to innovate and try things I think they are walking into a mahoosive tub of snake oil.
 
Until today I'd not heard of kinetic pathways - sounds as bad as solar roadways and very little data (in my very limited googling) available for end users or organisations to be able to see true cost per install or real life returns on investments.

The solar cyclepath is pure snakeoil unless it's similar to others with the panels above the path - I'm sure it's just money fapped up the wall (they love doing this)

 What are your thoughts on this

Thanks

We have been chosen to trial the latest innovative road and pavement surfaces, after securing £1.05m of funding from the Department of Transport and the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT).

Following an intense bidding round, including a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch, we've won the funding to trial three types of renewable energy generation ideas. We will be testing three different new high-tech techniques for using roads, cycleways and pavements to capture, store and re-use solar, kinetic and thermal energy. These trials will see how new technologies work in the real world, and will help influence how future roads are built in the 21st century.

We are currently upgrading a 3km stretch of the A421 road into Milton Keynes. The new dual carriageway will have a pavement and cycleway running alongside it with a special surface that will capture solar energy. In the summer, this heat can be stored and used to power streetlights and electronic road signs, or even heat nearby buildings. In cold weather, this technology will be used in combination with water pipes laid just below the surface that use geothermal energy from the earth. Together, they can also be used to warm the road surface, to prevent icy conditions and reduce the reliance on gritting lorries.

In another trial, we’ll test kinetic pavement panels in Flitwick. These will capture the energy created by pedestrian footfall, which can again be used to power streetlights and electronic road signs. So, as people step on the pavement tiles, their weight will cause electromagnetic induction generators to generate off-grid electricity.

The trials will help test innovative solutions that are currently very much in their infancy, but which could be rolled out to other local authorities in the future. And they will also help to ensure our communities’ energy requirements rely on sustainable, eco-friendly sources.

[Marco]

The only part of that which isn't obviously insane is the geothermal heated roads ... it might still be insane, but at least it would require more investigation than just using common sense.

Write to your local council, MP and local newspaper that for the same amount of money spend on solar roadway they could fund 30x more solar-park kWh/year (not that that makes much sense either). Probably 10x more rooftop solar too, but would have to crunch some numbers.

[Domagoj T]

How long before people realize that walking on kinetic paths that capture the energy of them walking is surprisingly tiring, since guess where the energy comes from?

[David Hess]

How long before people realize that walking on kinetic paths that capture the energy of them walking is surprisingly tiring, since guess where the energy comes from?

But it will keep them fitter lower health care costs ... unless it encourages them to take a vehicle when they otherwise would have preferred walking.

[hooker1uk]

Hi

I'm in the process of requesting this information from them at the moment no doubt CBC PR team are worried as there (as of 10 mins ago) no news on the councils website

here's hoping it'll bring some good info