$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('VMarcHart', 'T')he cornucopian at work.
And then let's install wind generators along the 46,876 miles of interstate roads. Fifteen generators per mile using both shoulders and the medium of the interstate, 703,140 generators, each at 3 megawatts, that's 2.1 gigawatts. Enough to power every fat food restaurant and every 60-inch plasma TV in America.
And then let's curral sheep and goats to mow the grass along the interstates, collect the manure and power distributed biomass power plants every 50 miles. Again, enough to power every HVAC unit in America to ensure no home gets colder than 69F or hotter than 72F.
And then...
PeakOil is You
THE Solar Road Thread (merged)
Re: Solar Panels Built Into Roads Could Be the Future of Energy
by fletch_961 » Fri 28 Aug 2009, 22:03:24
2.1 terawatts, using normal math.
Operating at 33% of nameplate capacity would produce ~6.1 petawatt-hours. Which is 52% more than the total 4.157 petawatt-hours (electric) the US uses (EIA-2007). No sheep needed.
Last edited by fletch_961 on Sat 29 Aug 2009, 01:30:19, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Solar Panels Built Into Roads Could Be the Future of Energy
by fletch_961 » Fri 28 Aug 2009, 22:21:41
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')t $60/bbl, four lane roads are about $4 million per mile, last seven years, and cost about $570,000 per year. At $12.3 million per mile, the solar road thingy would need to last about 12 years to equal the cost of an asphalt version.
Wouldn't that be closer to 21.5 years?
Also, asphalt roads include more than just the asphalt. Included in the $4M price would be grading, surveying, installation, hauling, probably land acquisition, etc. None of that appears to be included in the $12.3M price tag---all you get in the panels.
Why engineer solar panels that you can drive on when there is plenty of places that they can be put them that does not included 80k pound Mack trucks?
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Re: Solar Panels Built Into Roads Could Be the Future of Energy
by yesplease » Fri 28 Aug 2009, 22:48:37
They should make about half a million per mile per year in electricity so that helps defray costs. I'm pretty sure that most road paving costs in 2006 don't have land acquisition costs, or grading and surveying costs comparable to new road construction. Hauling the panels should be a pretty insignificant cost, but I found this indicating that the total cost should actually be about $16 million, since we'll need to pave with glass in a way similar to paving with asphalt (Which btw has several patents related to the same microwave idea).
In terms of the total cost, the group that proposed the plan wants to incorporate power generation, transmission, and data all in one road that will (supposedly) last three times longer than a typical road. This avoids right of way problems with new transmission, but I can't really say whether or not it'll be cost effective, since it depends on developing equipment capable of heating and forming the glass over the panels. If they can pull it off, it'll be much easier to repair roads, since we can just do another run w/ the equipment as opposed to pulling up all the old stuff and taking it back to be processed, which was the motivation for similar patents regarding asphalt paving.
I don't think large trucks in particular represent a large impediment. It really on whether or not they can pull off the application, and if so, what the savings from integrating services, along w/ lower maintenance costs, will be compared to asphalt or concrete based roads at the time.
In terms of the total cost, the group that proposed the plan wants to incorporate power generation, transmission, and data all in one road that will (supposedly) last three times longer than a typical road. This avoids right of way problems with new transmission, but I can't really say whether or not it'll be cost effective, since it depends on developing equipment capable of heating and forming the glass over the panels. If they can pull it off, it'll be much easier to repair roads, since we can just do another run w/ the equipment as opposed to pulling up all the old stuff and taking it back to be processed, which was the motivation for similar patents regarding asphalt paving.
I don't think large trucks in particular represent a large impediment. It really on whether or not they can pull off the application, and if so, what the savings from integrating services, along w/ lower maintenance costs, will be compared to asphalt or concrete based roads at the time.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Professor Membrane', ' ')Not now son, I'm making ... TOAST!
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Re: Solar Panels Built Into Roads Could Be the Future of Energy
by fletch_961 » Fri 28 Aug 2009, 23:57:03
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'m pretty sure that most road paving costs in 2006 don't have land acquisition costs, or grading and surveying costs comparable to new road construction.
Where did your $4 M figure come from? Was it the cost to re-pave a mile of road or the average cost to maintain the I-system. It certainly doesn't cost $4 M to re-coat 253,440 sq. feet of existing road w/ asphalt.
But when projects like the aforementioned "Big Dig" and this one (see below) get averaged in $4 M sounds about right.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he interchange recently underwent a significant rebuild dubbed the Marquette Interchange Project, and was officially opened on August 19, 2008, several weeks ahead of schedule. At a cost of less than $810 million, which was well below the projected $1 billion price tag, the project involved 46 cranes and more than 4,000 workers in the largest construction project in state history, which took a little more than four years to complete.
[edit] The new interchange
The new Marquette Interchange was designed to ensure the safe and efficient flow of traffic. Though the new interchange occupies the same amount of land as the old one, it feels much more spacious. Design features include:
* Two lane ramps in both directions between I-94 and I-43
* More gradual curves on ramps, with longer sight distances
* More distance between ramps, to eliminate traffic conflicts from lane changes
* Elimination of all left-hand entrances and exits
* Design features allow for future expansion to an eight lane expressway
$810M for a couple miles.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ome states, cities and counties say their road-repair budgets didn't anticipate asphalt prices that are up 25.9% from a year ago, so they're being forced to delay projects.
"We will do what patching we can, but this will truly, truly be a devastating blow to the infrastructure," says Shirlee Leighton, a county commissioner in Lake County, S.D., where a 5-mile repaving project was postponed after bids came in $79,000-$162,000 higher than the $442,000 budget.
About $500k for 5 miles of just repaving, not $4m. Granted that was probably a two lane road.
