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I've seen a lot of solar panel installations around Massachusetts highways. It seems they got put up on otherwise unused open areas around the roads, such as c
by foobarian 7y ago
I've seen a lot of solar panel installations around Massachusetts highways. It seems they got put up on otherwise unused open areas around the roads, such as clearings between the shoulder and the woods, or the area inside the clover leaf ramps. [1]
[1] https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3127663,-71.3832247,557m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3127663,-71.3832247,557m/dat...
- petee 7y agoThat is a much better use of space, although I'm concerned that any shiny object near a roadway needs to be carefully aimed not to blind drivers (there is a certain gold-windowed building on 95/128 that comes to mind...) I do recall seeing more parking lots being fitted with a solar roof, and vehicle charging below...this probably should be the primary use of panels, shading otherwise blacktop parking lots
- tbabb 7y ago> I'm concerned that any shiny object near a roadway needs to be carefully aimed not to blind drivers We seem to deal with driving near the ocean and other bodies of water just fine.
- iso1337 7y agoNot to mention other cars have a lot of shiny surfaces too.
- petee 7y agoYes, but curved, not a large flat reflector. Huge difference
- petee 7y agoBig difference between a large flat reflector 20 feet away, and a uneven ocean surface, likely atleast 100 ft away... That said, at the right angle, no, its not just fine, the ocean reflects alot of sun, just like anything else.
- jws 7y agoAbout aiming… solar panels want to be installed normal to the sun which means any reflection is going to go back toward the sun. Of course the sun moves around but the reflections are mostly sunward. You’d probably have to have panels in a steep valley to reflect back toward a road.
- sremani 7y agoSolar Panels North of lat 42 is like building a dam on a local stream.. it does something, but not worth the cost!
- colechristensen 7y agoGermany would disagree
- concert-gilled 7y agoThe energy prices they pay would agree. https://www.statista.com/statistics/418078/electricity-prices-for-households-in-germany/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/418078/electricity-price... https://www.statista.com/statistics/418087/electricity-prices-for-households-in-france/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/418087/electricity-price...
- mkl 7y agoWhy 42° specifically? Is it related to the current cost and efficiency?
- sremani 7y agoIts a thumb rule of sort! https://globalsolaratlas.info/ https://globalsolaratlas.info/ The red area in the map is the most productive part for Solar and Orange is partially good. Solar is very geographically dependent, also high altitude is good, that is why Tibet/Colorado is in dark red. Precipitation is a problem for Solar, that is why Florida is OK but not great place for it.
- inflatableDodo 7y agoHow about lat 57? http://aberdeensolar.com/ http://aberdeensolar.com/
- KirinDave 7y agoI live in the bay area atmospheric river and I still get a ton of juice out of my solar panels. I definitely have down seasons and the local laws with respect to off-grid power are frustrating, but I don't regret it. You might say, "You have not recouped the cost." This is difficult to measure; my home has power during power outages. We have them regularly around here. What is the price on having uninterrupted power in your home when no one else can deliver it? Surely quite high, by comparison, no?
- m4rtink 7y agoWe have seen this in many places in Japan - otherwise unused spaces around railway corridors, factories even seafront now host solar panel installations. Also you can see it when going to Narita with Skyliner over the old unused shinkansen corridor - Skyliner fits in just about a half of the corridor & the rest is solar panels: https://www.google.com/maps/search/narita/@35.7981082,140.1091537,202m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/search/narita/@35.7981082,140.10...