Comments on: Solar Roadways (the company) to Build Solar Panel Parking Lot (+ Top Transportation Stories)

By: Solar Edition of the Weekly Greens | Biofriendly Blog

Solar Edition of the Weekly Greens | Biofriendly Blog — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:02:17 +0000

[…] Solar Roadways (the company) to Build Solar Panel Parking Lot: It looks like Solar Roadways has received a grant by the Federal Highway Administration to build a solar panel parking lot in Idaho. It is a pretty innovative idea when you think about it. Plus, if all goes well, we could be seeing solar sidewalks, streets, and highways generating energy day in and day out. […]

By: Raum Bances

Raum Bances — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:05:00 +0000

Cover the parking area with solar panels. Don’t build the solar panels into the pavement and then park cars on top of them to block the sunlight. This seems like a no brainier.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:31:00 +0000

i agree on parking lot or even sidewalk applications… though, i think the focus is more on seeing how well it works & addressing any issues that pop up to see if it can eventually be applied to roads (where covers are less practical or useful)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:31:00 +0000

replying to the 3 comments on the bottom here

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Another approach is thermophotovoltaics to mine the heat stored in asphalt. . .

By: Mac McDougal

Mac McDougal — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:52:00 +0000

Amen, Raum. Please, you government grantors, please reconsider. If we build *roofs of solar panels for parking lots, we win at least four times: 1) The cars are cooler, reducing the need for immediate A/C; 2) The lot-owner can either harvest the power for the owner’s operations, or sell it back to the local utility. 3) UV damage to cars’ paint is reduced, which reduces the amount of energy/toxics used for repainting; 4) Retrofitting existing lots is a viable large scale strategy, while repaving probably is not.

By: Nbjunk2

Nbjunk2 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:06:00 +0000

At least for parking lots, it would likely be more practical and less expensive to simply cover the parking lot with solar covered car ports. People love covered parking. Off the shelf tech, and easier to replace damaged panels. Plus you’re likely get more wattage for the same area.