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| According to the Brusaw's website, solar panels should be angled to match the position of the sun for maximum efficiency. In their tests, the flat road solar panels produced 31% less energy than a correctly angled control panel. The half inch glass surface used for the roadway reduced the efficiency another 11%. Making roadway solar panels 42% less efficient than traditional solar installations <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.solarroadways.com/numbers.shtml|website=solarroadways.com|accessdate=1 June 2014}}</ref>. | According to the Brusaw's website, solar panels should be angled to match the position of the sun for maximum efficiency. In their tests, the flat road solar panels produced 31% less energy than a correctly angled control panel. The half inch glass surface used for the roadway reduced the efficiency another 11%. Making roadway solar panels 42% less efficient than traditional solar installations <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.solarroadways.com/numbers.shtml|website=solarroadways.com|accessdate=1 June 2014}}</ref>. | ||
| Another thing we learned - through experimentation - was that our 1/2-inch textured glass surface reduced the amount of energy produced by solar cells by 11.12-percent. Subtracting that from the total, we still have 13,385 Billion Kilowatt-hours. And remember: this is the amount of power calculated for a latitude near the Canadian border. The number would be much larger if calculated for the southern states. | |||
| ==Feasibility concerns== | ==Feasibility concerns== | ||
Revision as of 15:04, 1 June 2014
This article is about the company. For general discussion of this concept, see Smart highway.| Company type | Startup |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 (2006) |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Sandpoint, Idaho, United States |
| Website | solarroadways.com |
Solar Roadways Incorporated is a startup based in Sandpoint, Idaho, that is developing solar powered road panels to form a smart highway. Their technology combines a transparent driving surface with underlying solar cells, electronics and sensors to act as a solar array with programmable capability. The company was founded by Scott (an electrical engineer) and Julie Brusaw in 2006.
Concept
Solar Roadways Inc's concept is to replace current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with road panels made from recycled materials and incorporating photovoltaic cells that generate renewable energy that may be used by homes and businesses, and with any excess energy perhaps stored in or alongside the road.
Development
Solar Roadways received Phase I ($100,000) and Phase II ($750,000) Small Business Innovation Research grants from the Department of Transportation to develop and build a solar parking lot. The US Department of Transportation distinguishes the technology proposed by Solar Roadways Inc. as "Solar Power Applications in the Roadway," as compared to a number of other solar technologies categorized by the DOT as "Solar Applications along the Roadway."
Scott and Julie Brusaw have built a 12-by-36-foot (3.7 by 11.0 m) parking lot covered with hexagonal glass-covered solar panels sitting on top of a concrete base, which are heated to help remove snow and ice, and also include LEDs to display messages. The hexagonal shape allows for better coverage on curves and hills. According to the Brusaws, the panels can sustain a 250,000 lb (110,000 kg) load.
Prototype
Solar Roadways describes its existing prototype panel as consisting of three layers.
- Road surface layer - translucent and high-strength, it is rough enough to provide sufficient traction, yet still passes sunlight through to the solar collector cells embedded within, along with LEDs and a heating element. This layer needs to be capable of handling today's heaviest loads under the worst of conditions and to be weatherproof, to protect the electronics layer beneath it. The surface layer will also be responsible for redirecting sunlight to hit the solar panels at the optimal angle.
- Electronics layer - Contains a microprocessor board with support circuitry for sensing loads on the surface and controlling a heating element with a view to reducing or eliminating snow and ice removal as well as school and business closings due to inclement weather. The microprocessor controls lighting, communications, monitoring, etc. With a communications device every 12 ft (3.7 m), a solar roadway can be an intelligent highway system.
- Base plate layer - While the electronics layer collects energy from the sun, it is the base plate layer that distributes that power as well as data signals (phone, TV, internet, etc.) down the line to all homes and businesses connected to the solar roadway. It needs to be weatherproof to protect the electronics layer above it.
Cost
As of May 2014, the specific cost and power output of the panels have not been released by Solar Roadways, thus the lifetime costs have not been determined by independent sources. However, Solar Roadways reported in a May 2014 Wired article that a commercialized solar roadway would provide enough power to offset the cost over its lifespan.
Founder Scott Brusaw estimated in 2010 that solar roadways would cost around $70 per square foot. To reach the goal of paving every road with solar roadway and producing three times as much power as the US uses would cost approximately $56 trillion (about 16 times the US annual federal budget). Asphalt costs $3 to $15 a square foot.
According to the Brusaw's website, solar panels should be angled to match the position of the sun for maximum efficiency. In their tests, the flat road solar panels produced 31% less energy than a correctly angled control panel. The half inch glass surface used for the roadway reduced the efficiency another 11%. Making roadway solar panels 42% less efficient than traditional solar installations .
Feasibility concerns
As investment in new technologies grows, the panels may become cheaper, therefore possibly lowering the cost of procurement. As one example, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has created a solar panel design with new ceramic material that's thinner than current models, uses cheaper materials and can switch polarity, which improves efficiency. The new panel was developed by a team led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. The tests were conducted, in part, at the Advanced Photon Source housed at Argonne.
In addition to cost, "a couple of other questions remain unanswered. How will the roadway remain clean? What will such an endeavor cost authorities in maintenance and repair? Storage will also be a major hindrance to making such a project a reality," according to The Strategic Sourceror. The U.S. Department of Transportation is requesting smaller demonstrations located in parking lots, for example.
Awards
Solar Roadways has won awards and nominations from General Electric, the World Technology Award, Google and the IEEE Ace Awards.
List of Awards
- Phase I SBIR Award ($100,000; 2009)
- GE Ecoimagination Community Award ($50,000; 2010)
- Phase II SBIR Award ($750,000; 2011)
See also
References
- Following the Solar Brick Road singularityhub.com
- "Solar Roadways SBIR Awards".
- "Alternative Uses of Highway Right-of-Way".
- ^ By Keith Barry (2014-05-08). "This Parking Lot Is Paved With Solar Panels | Autopia". WIRED. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - extremetech.com http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/183130-solar-roadways-passes-1-4-million-in-crowdfunding-just-short-of-the-56-trillion-required-but-not-bad-for-a-crazy-idea. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - solarroadways.com http://www.solarroadways.com/numbers.shtml. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - "A new material for solar panels could make them cheaper, more efficient".
- ^ "Solar roads: What do they mean for procurement services?".
- Michelle Starr, Solar road could change how we power the world, CNet, (May 13, 2014).
- ^ "Solar Roadways SBIR Awards".
- "Paving the Solar Roadway to Success".
External links
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