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posted by on Tuesday February 07 2017, @02:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the perfect-for-sunny-days dept.

http://www.curbed.com/2017/2/6/14521102/highway-the-ray-solar-power-transportation From the article:

Highways have never been the sexiest infrastructure projects, but Allie Kelly, the executive director of The Ray, believes that preconception will shift dramatically over the next few years due to rapid technological shifts. With politicians in Washington discussing the administration's ambitious infrastructure plans, now is the time to make investments in our transportation system. As far as Kelly is concerned, that vision should focus on achieving zero deaths, zero carbon, and zero waste. She hopes The Ray can serve as the laboratory where new ideas and revenue models are tried, tested, and proven possible.

"We're at a tipping point in transportation," says Kelly. "In five to ten years, we won't remember a time when we invested a dime in infrastructure spending for a road that only did one thing."

[...] Initially, the vision for The Ray was to add a solar installation in the median, along with a wildflower garden, to remind drivers about the environmental costs of the transportation system. But the results of the study suggested a more dramatic plan was needed. Since then, The Ray, in concert with the Georgia Department of Transportation, has slowly rolled out a number of new initiatives to improve both safety and sustainability. In 2015, a new electric charging station powered in part by photovoltaic panels, a joint project with funding from Kia Motors, became the first in the state.

This past year, the Ray added a strip of Wattway solar panels to an entrance ramp, and installed a WheelWright tire pressure sensor at a rest stop right next to the Alabama state line. The new British device helps drivers quickly test and maintain proper tire pressure, a leading cause of crashes.

Over the next year, the foundation plans to add more new tests that will help build out a more holistic roadway. A one megawatt solar installation will be installed in a right-of-way as part of a joint effort with Georgia Power to turn the highway into a place for power generation, and a series of bioswales—landscaped drainage ditches that naturally filter pollution—will turn the areas adjacent to the highway into more clean, sustainable, and natural landscapes.

"We're pushing the idea that these kind of installations can become widespread energy generation system for state departments of transportation," says Kelly. "Highways can eventually make money, and even serve as a power grid for the future."

Previous stories on solar roads and pathways:
Solar Generating Roads
SolaRoad Cycle Path Electricity Yield Exceeds Expectations


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by EvilSS on Tuesday February 07 2017, @03:36PM

    by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 07 2017, @03:36PM (#464093)
    Yea, it's a misquote of a NHTSA report:

    Critical reasons attributed to vehicles

    The information about critical reasons related to the vehicles is important in evaluating on-board systems that warn the driver about the condition of critical vehicle systems such as tires and brakes. Table 9(b) presents the related statistics, based on the crashes in which the critical reason was attributed to the vehicle. The term crash in this subsection will refer to a crash in which the critical reason was attributed to the vehicle. The most frequently occurring vehicle-related critical reason was tire failure or degradation/wheel failure, which was assigned in about 43 percent of the crashes, followed by brake failure/degradation that was assigned to 25 percent of the vehicles. Steering/suspension/transmission/engine failure as a critical reason was assigned in 10.5 percent of the crashes, while various other vehicle failures/deficiencies were assigned for about 21 percent of the crashes. Various types of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) and other dashboard-warning systems are already in use. These systems provide information on the condition of critical vehicle elements such as brake-system hydraulics, tire pressure and condition, etc. The information about the vehicle-related critical reasons can be used in evaluating these systems.

    National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (pg 25) [dot.gov]

    It's the leading cause of accidents where the critical factor in the accident is attributed to the vehicle itself, not the roadway or a driver.

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday February 07 2017, @04:35PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 07 2017, @04:35PM (#464134) Journal

    Now, THAT makes sense. "Of vehicle caused crashes, half of all crashes were attributed to tires." That makes perfect sense. And, brakes second. Again, that makes perfect sense. Most other stuff that breaks on a car won't actually cause a crash very often.