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posted by martyb on Friday October 07 2016, @08:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the paving-squares-with-hexagons dept.

Over 2 years after the laying a bunch of solar harvesting hexagonal panels at its Idaho electronics lab, and 11 months after revealing its more powerful and more colorful third generation units, Solar Roadways has completed its first public installation. The City of Sandpoint, Idaho, is playing host to the proof of concept roll out, with 30 tiles now brightening up a town square – though not all of the panels are operational at the moment.

The 150 sq ft (14 sq m) installation in Sandpoint's Jeff Jones Town Square is made up of 30 SR3 panels. Where Solar Roadways' second generation prototype was a 36-watt panel, the SR3 is the same size but is rated at 48 W, made possible by replacing the panel mounting holes with edge connectors. The new units each include four heating elements to help keep the installation free of snow and ice and over 300 brighter, daylight readable LEDs with over 16 million available colors.

Among other notables, it is the birthplace of former Alaskan governor and vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin.

More information is available from http://sandpointidaho.gov/visiting-sandpoint/solar-roadways and http://www.solarroadways.com/.


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  • (Score: 1) by Francis on Saturday October 08 2016, @03:10AM

    by Francis (5544) on Saturday October 08 2016, @03:10AM (#411678)

    Why do you think they're installing them in Sandpoint, Idaho?

  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday October 08 2016, @04:25PM

    by Reziac (2489) on Saturday October 08 2016, @04:25PM (#411778) Homepage

    Because someone got hold of some federal funding??

    Sandpoint gets a lot of snow, cloud cover, sand and gravel used on the roads in winter... yeah, this'll be real durable and practical, riiiiiight.

    --
    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
    • (Score: 1) by Francis on Saturday October 08 2016, @06:10PM

      by Francis (5544) on Saturday October 08 2016, @06:10PM (#411802)

      That's probably the other reason why they're trying it there. It's a small town and it's got horrible weather, so they can get their testing data in without the possibility of causing gridlock all over a major city.

      • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday October 08 2016, @06:21PM

        by Reziac (2489) on Saturday October 08 2016, @06:21PM (#411807) Homepage

        So cause gridlock in a smaller city instead! Progress.

        [Considering the construction gridlock that's routine around Los Angeles, their little bit would probably go unnoticed.]

        --
        And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
        • (Score: 1) by Francis on Saturday October 08 2016, @10:09PM

          by Francis (5544) on Saturday October 08 2016, @10:09PM (#411847)

          The point is that they have to test the product somewhere if they have any intention of bringing it to market. And installing it in a small town where the damage is likely slower would help significantly in terms of predicting how durable the panels are and how long they're going to last.

          LA isn't what I would consider a good choice though, at least not in the areas where there's such significant traffic. Perhaps on the side streets or on the top floor of parking garages.

          • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday October 08 2016, @10:38PM

            by Reziac (2489) on Saturday October 08 2016, @10:38PM (#411850) Homepage

            Ya know, we've already got vast flat areas where we could deploy solar panels without having to worry about durability, and right where we need it most -- the roofs of commercial buildings in every city in the sun belt.

            BTW Sam's Club has already deployed little wind generators atop parking lot lights at some of its stores. Last I checked, they produced about 5% of those stores' electricity.

            --
            And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
            • (Score: 1) by Francis on Saturday October 08 2016, @11:33PM

              by Francis (5544) on Saturday October 08 2016, @11:33PM (#411861)

              5%, wow, how impressive, that's clearly more than they would get by also paving portions of the parking lot and the surrounding streets with solar panels. </sarcasm>

              The point is that there's a lot of area covered by roads that could potentially be tapped for solar production if they can make them durable enough and cost effective enough. Those roads just sit there even when cars aren't driving over them, might as well use them for energy production if possible.

              • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Sunday October 09 2016, @01:04AM

                by Reziac (2489) on Sunday October 09 2016, @01:04AM (#411880) Homepage

                5% is a lot when you use millions of dollars worth. (The company is also considering rooftop solar. Even cutting another 5% off electricity costs would be a worthwhile savings on overhead.) I asked the manager at my then-local store because those little bitty generators atop the light poles really didn't look like much.

                As to roadway solar, they'd have to be at least as durable as concrete (otherwise the road will spend way too much time under construction)... and that's a tall order. Especially in areas with lots of reliable sun -- which also tend to have lots of circulating grit. Where I used to live in the SoCal desert, plexiglas stayed transparent only a few months, and was entirely opaque within 3 years... and that was in town facing away from the prevailing wind.

                But occurs to me that if they can collect heat energy absorbed into say, a black rubberized surface (like the newer asphalts made of recycled tires) -- that would solve much of the wear-and-tear problem.

                Meanwhile, I can't wait to see what a winter of studded tires and chains does to the test plot...

                --
                And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.