Is it time for a solar revolution?
How many people can our world support without fossil fuels (say in 50 years when all the oil is used up and gone)? Many experts believe that only 1.5-2 billion of the current 6.8 billion citizens of Earth could be supported.
What will we do? How will we live? Who will survive?
We need to find a way to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Some of the major uses of fossil fuels are energy production (coal provides half the U.S. energy supply and is globally responsible for 20 percent of human caused greenhouse gases) and transportation (Americans use 1.3 gallons of gasoline per person per day).
As Americans we make up 5 percent of the worlds population and use more than 33 percent of all consumed oil for transportation. Like it or not, we set trends replicated around the globe. Countries like China and India, with populations in the billions, seek to live horribly consumptive lives just like us. As responsible citizens of the world we should set a proactive example and take action now to exist in a manner which does not degrade our planet.
“We have to do the best we can. That is our sacred human responsibility.” - Albert Einstein
One step in the process would be to become energy independent. Julie and Scott Bursaw have taken an impressive step forward for themselves and a giant leap forward for humanity. Both Julie and Scott are founders and inventors of Solar RoadwaysTM.
A solar roadway is a series of Solar Road PanelsTM which replace road surfaces, parking lots, walking paths and driveways. Each Solar Road PanelTM generates electricity, heats the road surface (melting any accumulations of snow or ice), illuminates lanes, communicates hazards, and transmits data signals (telephone, cable, internet) and storm water. These road panels replace our currently out-dated and decaying infrastructure while paying for themselves overtime.
“How is this possible?” One, through generation and sale of electricity. Two, through transport of cleaned water. Three, through leasing of internal and/or roadside conduit to telephone, cable and internet providers. Four, through sale of advertising space with configurable LED's. Five, through charging people or companies to recharge vehicles.
Did I forget to mention that these solar roadways make electric cars practical for long distance travel similar to current internal combustion engine vehicles? Engineers are working to make it possible to charge the electric vehicle while driving! With these technologies the internal combustion engine has been rendered obsolete.
Proof Positive
Using numbers available at www.solarroadways.com/numbers.shtml and assuming that only half of the roadways, parking lots and sidewalks (25,000 square miles) are converted to Solar Road PanelsTM 6,980.5 billion KiloWatts could be generated annually. These numbers assume currently available efficiency and that the panels operate for only four hours per day (headlights at night function to charge the panels!).
The U.S. Energy Information Administration data indicate that 3,471 billion KiloWatt-hours of electricity were used in the U.S. in 2009. As you can see with this low-ball, conservative estimate, a significant energy surplus could be generated. This surplus would allow for ever-increasing energy demands.
Using current solar technologies (18.5 percent efficiency, while 42 percent efficiency has been achieved in laboratory settings) and current energy costs the panels would take 22 years to pay for themselves, just in electricity sales. When factoring in the rest of the revenue streams and improved technologies the panels will pay for themselves well within their operable lifetime (20 years).
Sustainability Ingrained from the Start
These extraordinary panels will have an internal support structure made from, you guessed it, garbage! Plastic bags, bottles and rubber tires will be mixed with organic materials to form super-strong composite parts which will make up the internal support structure. When the panel has worn out replacement of solar cells, capacitors and LED's are all that is necessary: the rest of the panel can be re-used.
Panels would be built using hydroelectric power in a manufacturing facility with railroad access. Solar RoadwaysTM has met with a locomotive company to discuss using the solar panels being transported to power the current standard diesel-electric locomotives. These locomotives use a diesel generator to generate electricity to run the electric motors which propel the train. The panels would be oriented so as to generate electricity and power the electric motors while in-transit to their final location.
A Safer World
Each Solar Road PanelTM contains a micro-processor which can sense when a load is present. The panel can differentiate between vehicles and living creatures based on load. Through internal LED's the panel can indicate to drivers when a hazard, such as a whitetail deer, is present. Since the panels can sense vehicles they will only light road lines when a vehicle is present, conserving electricity. This is especially important at night and in low-visibility situations where seeing road lines is often difficult or impossible.
The panels will have a self-powered heating element which can melt ice and snow eliminating the need for road salts, plows and tire chains which damage road surfaces and are quite expensive.
Smart Grid
Solar Road PanelsTM would be connected together into a smart grid which means no more power outages. Yes, no more power outages. Here's how:
Solar RoadwaysTM replace the current centralized power system. What does that mean? Currently, electricity is produced at a power-plant (coal, nuclear) then distributed through high-voltage transmission lines to relay stations where it is converted and re-distributed at a lower voltage which can be used by homes and businesses.
With Solar RoadwaysTM the entire infrastructure (transmission lines, relay stations and power-plant) is contained within the road panel. As the road panels would all be connected, even to parking lots and driveways, power would be generated and transmitted everywhere. Due to the way the smart grid is engineered it cannot be shut down, not by terrorists, not even by power companies.
Even more impressive the Solar RoadwaysTM generate and pass electricity to where it is needed. In current systems about 60 percent of the energy used to generate electricity is lost as heat. Solar RoadwaysTM do not lose energy as heat, release carbon dioxide or create radioactive waste like our current systems do.
Continuing this string of awesomeness, the smart grid can self-heal. Were a panel to be destroyed or damaged by natural events (earthquake, hurricane) or an exploding tanker truck, the grid would recognize an issue and re-route power and information transmissions, similar to a detour. The result is no loss of power anywhere, not even a blink of disruption.
In summary:
Solar RoadwaysTM could generate at least enough electricity for the United States with the potential to generate three times or more of the annual U.S. energy consumption.
For roughly the same cost as current systems (not including revenues generated) Solar RoadwaysTM can be implemented. This could generate 2,500,000 jobs, over 10 years, in just the panel assembly.
Solar RoadwaysTM make electric vehicles a plausible alternative to current internal combustion engine vehicles since charge stations would be conveniently located and en-route charging is being investigated.
Solar RoadwaysTM could save many lives by providing smart driving conditions, warning drivers of hazards and removing ice and snow. This could result in lower insurance costs.
Not to mention, Solar RoadwaysTM could significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases and pollutants produced by current fossil fuel and nuclear based energy production.
“I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” - Thomas Edison, 1931
