Hanny Aziz
Professor John Ingell
Intro to Engineering-001
April 26, 2018
Solar Roadways
Imagine what it would be like to have roads that power our nation. No more burning coal for energy (50% of greenhouse gases), no more power outages, no more snow/ice removal, warnings of an animal or pedestrian on the road, and lanes that are LED and can be adjusted at any time. Since 2006, a new type of system of roads called solar roadways has been in development. The Solar Roadway is a progression of interconnected Solar Road Panels that you drive on. The thought is to supplant all present asphalt streets, parking areas, and garages with Solar Road Panels that gather and store sun powered vitality to be utilized by our homes and organizations. This sustainable power source replaces the need for the present petroleum derivatives utilized for the age of power. This, thusly, slices ozone harming substances actually down the middle! The left-over energy will be stored in batteries for use when needed. Besides the production of energy, solar roadways provide powerline safety. Today, powerlines are either on exposed to the elements on dangerous poles or buried underground putting construction workers at risk of electric shock when digging. In the future with solar roadways, there will be a section for powerlines. This section gives space for the power lines, keeping them protected and people safe. They will also be easy for workers to access. Solar roadways will also open new opportunities for electric vehicles by charging them almost anywhere. Owners of electric vehicles will be able to charge with the sun’s energy, not burnt fossil fuels that pollute our environment. Solar roadways, are they a good idea or not?
The solar roadway was invented by Scott and Julie Brusaw. In 2006, they opened their own company with Scott as the president and CEO. Their goal was to develop solar roadways that would replace all asphalt surfaces with solar panels and be able to withstand vehicular pressure, weather, and be safe. These roadways of the future would require extensive development done by engineers. Strong, transparent, and self-cleaning glass with the required traction at a good price is only one of the problems solar roadways instill. Putting problems like this to the side, the United States Department of Transport granted solar roadways $100,000 to help with research and development for phase I. In 2011, solar roadways were again given a grant by the United States Department of Transport. But this time it was $750,000 for phase II. It was to develop and build a solar powered parking lot. With the help of the money, they were able to build a 12 by 36-foot solar parking lot covered in hexagonal glass covered solar panels able to be heated (to melt snow and ice), illuminate lines and messages through LEDs, and withstand a whopping 250,000-pound load. Then in 2014, solar roadways came up with 2.2 million dollars through a crowdfunding drive so that they can start producing the product. Then in 2015, The United States Department of Transportation awarded solar roadways a Phase IIB SBIR contract to push research. They gave them another $750,000 in 2016.
On September 30th, 2016 at Jeff Jones Town Square in Sandpoint, Idaho, the first installation of this new technology was opened to the public. This installation was for walkways only. It consisted of 30 solar roadways SR3 panels covering about 150 square feet. The installation costed $60,000 and was mostly covered by a grant of about $47,000 from the Idaho Department of Commerce and a $10,000 grant from the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency. The power generated is fed into the electricity needed at Jeff Jones Town Square.
So how does this complicated product of engineering work? The solar roadways consist of three layers, the road surface layer, the electronics layer, and the base plate layer. The road surface layer is transparent and very strong. It is rough enough to provide good traction but still allows sunlight to penetrate to the solar collector cells. It is weather proof and capable of withstanding today’s heaviest loads all while protecting the other layers. Secondly comes the electronics layer. This layer contains the solar collecting cells, the road painting LEDs, the super caps that store the sun’s energy (not batteries) and is where the heat for heating comes from. The last layer is the base plate layer. This Is where the power collected from the electronics layer is distributed and where data signals downline to homes and businesses connected to the solar roadway. The base plate layer lies directly on existing asphalts. It is also weather proof to protect the above layers.
Solar roadways must work together to be effective. When multiple Solar Road Panels are interconnected, the Solar Roadway is formed. Driveways, parking lots, interstate highways, state routes, downtown streets and residential streets will all be connected to one another. Other solar roadways used in amusement parks, raceways, bike paths, parking garage rooftops, remote military locations, homes, and businesses will also all be connected. Solar roadways will even power street lights.
Shown below is an example of a system of solar roadways in the United States. With this system, the east coast will power the west coast when the west coast is still dark and vice versa.
The 5 E’s, exponential change, economics, engineering, equity, and environment must be taken into consideration. As engineers, we must think of every factor before going fourth with a project, or even an idea. The first “E” is exponential change. With solar roadways, there will definitely be exponential change. Right now, solar roadways are very expensive to develop, build, and install due to the fact that it is a new technology. With time and when the product is fully developed, it will be much easier to find and produce cheaper material with either same or better performance. We will also know everything that goes into their installation and how to make the process simpler and cheaper. The second “E” is economics. Right now, solar roadways are not developed enough to pass this “E”. They are very expensive to produce and install. As mentioned above, it costed $60,000 dollars to install this technology in a space of 150 square feet. The price of maintenance that will have to go into solar roadways must also be taken into account. But being solar energy, we will save loads of money on power. The third “E” is engineering. Being very complicated, solar roadways require extensive engineering. Research, design, production, energy and security must all be taken into account by engineers. Urban systems engineering will require the best engineers in the industry to work on this project since it is so complicated. The fourth “E” is equity. From a social stand point, safety is one of the most important aspects of solar roadways. Solar roadways need to be a hundred percent safe before they are put in place. Culturally, solar roadways are a go since they help keep our environment clean. Solar roadways also aid in warning drivers when pedestrians and/or animals are on the road. The final “E” is environment. With no doubt, solar roadways are a go. They eliminate fifty percent of greenhouse gases and make solar power the main source of energy in our nation.
In conclusion, solar powered roadways are one of the many amazing products of engineering that will change our world for the better. Solar roadways are a big step into the future as they eliminate one of the biggest problems engineers have, finding an environmentally friendly source of energy that is able to power our whole nation. With time we will be able to tell whether or not solar roadways can be utilized or not.