The problem with governments handling this stuff, is the people who make these choices never think long term, they think only of what is good for their image right now.
E.g., some local schools have ordered ipads for all of the students to use in class, after a round 2 years, most of them are not working, the remaining ones have a host of issues such as pressure marks on the screen from people pushing it too hard, scratches, and crap battery life because they are run all day. When I was doing student teaching, and wanted to use the tablets, the cooperating teacher recommended that I avoid them since they are too unreliable, and don't last long enough to get any work done.
The principal got tricked into getting a ton of non serviceable tablets that ended up being junk after about 2 years.
The problem with governments handling this stuff, is the people who make these choices never think long term, they think only of what is good for their image right now.
E.g., some local schools have ordered ipads for all of the students to use in class, after a round 2 years, most of them are not working, the remaining ones have a host of issues such as pressure marks on the screen from people pushing it too hard, scratches, and crap battery life because they are run all day. When I was doing student teaching, and wanted to use the tablets, the cooperating teacher recommended that I avoid them since they are too unreliable, and don't last long enough to get any work done.
The principal got tricked into getting a ton of non serviceable tablets that ended up being junk after about 2 years.
How much do they normally spend on paper, books, crayons, wooden counting blocks, uniforms, sports kit, designer school bags, etc. every two years?
Put it in perspective and a tablet every two years might not be a big deal (so long as they get good value from it before it breaks).
(Although I'm sure there's a bigger problem lurking underneath: They'll be totally screwed on price for all the special educational apps that the kids will need)
After hearing the news about this BS, I was waiting for this video from Dave. Not disappointed! Let see if Thunderf00t makes a video too.
Dave, you should subtitle (in french) your video and send it to our french ministers...
we are used to politicians wasting money here, but yes they have found a new ecological way to do it for some more years...
It seems like it would be better to place the panels over the roads. Motorists would be provided shade and protection from rain, and the panels would be able to function even during the largest traffic jam. The best part of it is that existing solar panel materials would be usable because they wouldn't need to withstand such heavy loads nor would they need LEDs to show lines in the road.
I guess the only thing that would put this to rest is someone actually building it and honestly publishing the data.
As a net gain there will be knowledge about how to build a reliable solar road and what problems would come out of it.
The one thing Dave doesn't address but is very likely the reason why solar roadways actually DO make sense: SPACE.
It seems like it would be better to place the panels over the roads. Motorists would be provided shade and protection from rain, and the panels would be able to function even during the largest traffic jam. The best part of it is that existing solar panel materials would be usable because they wouldn't need to withstand such heavy loads nor would they need LEDs to show lines in the road.
This makes a lot of sense but the problem is that it will be harder to move/extend the road later on and many people are afraid to drive in a tunnel.
The one thing Dave doesn't address but is very likely the reason why solar roadways actually DO make sense: SPACE. A road is an area of land nobody cares about if it is fitted with solar panels. If you drive through the north of Germany you'll see quite large fields perfectly suitable for keeping animals or growing food which are filled with solar panels so valuable land is wasted. The picture above shows the problem with putting solar panels on buildings: Aesthetics. IMHO you also can't compare prices from established technology versus new technology and say the established technology has already won. I you do that there will never be any progress.
And even if the French solar road fails the government has sponsored some jobs and hopefully gained a bunch of engineers with hands-on experience with solar panel technology.
It seems like it would be better to place the panels over the roads. Motorists would be provided shade and protection from rain, and the panels would be able to function even during the largest traffic jam. The best part of it is that existing solar panel materials would be usable because they wouldn't need to withstand such heavy loads nor would they need LEDs to show lines in the road.
Everyone wins.
I like the South Korean idea the best. It has to be much cheaper than paving the roads, yet still follows the roadway. It creates a sheltered path for cyclists and also an easy way to guide cables and send out maintenance workers without disrupting traffic. Depending on the direction of the road, it can be set at an angle to maximize efficiency (east-west roads would be best).
Let's hope it is all talk and no action, for the sake of the French tax-paying public who are about to be reamed royally if they are to fund such a project... and don't forget to follow the money trail as I can't help but suspect there is a huge dose of either nepotism, bribery or kickbacks involved here somewhere.
SOUTH KOREAN ROADWAY:
Okay.... I hadn't seen that before.
Seems fairly reasonable to me. Maybe not the total area and thus power generation the roadway idiots would like to claim, but no special new technology needed, and it takes advantage of existing space, and no wiring trenches to dig along the shoulders of the road. Are there any reports available on the Korean system? Be interesting to see how that compares to the calculated true results of the solar roads - like Dave's best case calculations, not the pie in the sky estimates from the backers.
Let's hope it is all talk and no action, for the sake of the French tax-paying public who are about to be reamed royally if they are to fund such a project... and don't forget to follow the money trail as I can't help but suspect there is a huge dose of either nepotism, bribery or kickbacks involved here somewhere.
to play devils advocate,
I feel like in general solar roadways have the benefit of being essentially town/goverment run, as they are on public space, so its easy for city planning/power company/etc to have stable numbers to work with.
I could see solar roadways becoming "reliable critical infrastructure"
i meant that they would stay in goverment control no matter what. and you would not have a protest about the "gobbermint stealing oah ruufs"
as in, we can send in some national guard to restore power to our city and we can use them to make serious grid planning decisions without trying to push mad legislation.
i meant that they would stay in goverment control no matter what. and you would not have a protest about the "gobbermint stealing oah ruufs"
as in, we can send in some national guard to restore power to our city and we can use them to make serious grid planning decisions without trying to push mad legislation.
What's all this talk about government stealing people's roofs?
The government has tons of land and building that don't have solar panels. Put panels on that land first.
People's homes are their homes, if you want panels on them offer incentives for people to take it up. Works well in many countries.