EEVblog #632 - Solar Roadways Are RUBBISH!

EEVblog1 HN recommender · recommended in 1 month, 2014–2023

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explainer · general · evergreen · 2014–2023 on HN

Dave Jones of EEVblog debunks the Solar Roadways project, which raised millions through Indiegogo and government funding. He works through the solar generation and LED power calculations to show the idea isn't viable.

HN cites it as the go-to debunking whenever solar roads come up, because it does the math.

Renewables, batteries & storage Electronics & circuit design #solarpower #debunking #engineeringcalculations #crowdfunding

5 comments from Hacker News

@comboy2016-01 · in “France to build 1000 km of roads with solar panels”

Very relevant: ▶ this video Many of you probably know EEVblog. In this video he does the math. Spoilers: as common sense suggests, those roads are not such a good idea (at least with currently available technology).

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@p1mrx2023-08 · in “America’s Top Environmental Groups Have Lost the Plot on Climate Change”

I assume you're referencing ▶ this video Erthos' panels are not solar freakin roadways, because they're fenced off, and only maintenance robots drive on them.

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@Canada2019-08 · in “The first solar road has turned out to be a disappointing failure”

But it wasn't a valuable experiment. Absolutely nothing was learned from it. It's some combination of delusion and fraud. Here's a video from 2014 discussing it: ▶ this video

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@stcredzero2019-05 · in “Tesla is raising up to $1.5B through convertible note and share sale”

How does it increase our knowledge, or ability to do new exciting things, or our ability to "push the envelope"? It keeps resources from being wasted that would otherwise actually contribute to our ability to "push the envelope." It doesn't. It's a waste of time and effort. When something which really is impossible or impractical is called out, then huge amounts of resources can be redirected to genuinely beneficial projects. ▶ this video Are you advocating that we never doubt? Should we just "listen and believe" and somehow our positive energy will make things happen? Sorry, no. Scientific analysis has predictive power. That's what Elon Musk is all about.

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@3rd32014-11 · in “Netherlands unveils world's first solar bike lane”

Wasn’t that idea debunked as impractical multiple times? EEVblog #632 - Solar Roadways Are BULLSHIT! ▶ this video

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