9 ms·

What problem is this solving? The limiting factor in solar panel production is cost, not places to put them. Why bother building solar panels that can double as

by jmaslow 12y ago

What problem is this solving? The limiting factor in solar panel production is cost, not places to put them. Why bother building solar panels that can double as roads when we can just put solar panels anywhere else?

sucramb 12y ago
Maybe because the local politicians are your cronies and enable grant-grabbing from the EU? For 3M€ you can put solar panels on at least at least 100 houses and not just have energy for 3 as the article states. Plus they wont degrade or be covered with plenty of dirt or snow in winter. As always, just follow the money and you can find out what's going on.
- zmk_ 12y ago
  You clearly have never been to the Netherlands. If there happens to be snow (which it rarely does now), bike lanes get cleared first.
  - sucramb 12y ago
    I grew up in Germany not far from the dutch border and am an avid cyclist. My point is that at the time being you can produce far more efficiently solar energy with putting solar cells on roof tops and you are being ripped off tax payers money. Once you run out of roof tops there is not much of development needed to add a 1cm glass plate on top of a solar cell. It is not like developing a fusion reactor. You are legally stolen 2.7M€ because you can supply three house for just 30.000€.
- lucb1e 12y ago
  > grant-grabbing from the EU For the record, we contribute more money to the European Union per capita than any other member state. Source: local news a while ago, and http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/22/eu-budget-spending-contributions-european-union http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/22/eu-budg...
  - sucramb 12y ago
    My goodness, I really like the Netherlands and even consider relocating to Amsterdam. It is not against the Netherlands it is against stupid politicians. Last not least I would support you with regard to you link about EU spending / receiving.
kiba 12y ago
Solar paths and solar roads is one of those cool thing until you actually think through the problems.
lucb1e 12y ago
This is directly addresses in the company's FAQ: > The total electricity consumption in the Netherlands lays around 110,000 GWh and increases annually by about 3% (according to CBS Netherlands). This means that if all suitable roofs in the Netherlands would be equipped with solar panels, they could only supply approximately 25% of the Dutch electricity demand. Even though not every rooftop has one yet due to the cost of it (and some people find it ugly, like my father, he absolutely does not want us or our neighbors to have it :/), in the long run there is also not enough space. At least, that's what the company who makes this material is saying. Even if they are biased and we assume it's only half as bad as they tell us, we're still at only 50% of the demand. Source: http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/ http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/ (under "Why would you include solar cells in the road and not next to it or on rooftops?")
- sucramb 12y ago
  So are those 25% suitable roofs already filled with solar cells? If not, why do you waste money on somthing that is roughly 30-50 times more expensive? And once the suitable roofs are filled are there really no other more suitable surfaces than roads? Putting it more directly: would YC think that this is a good investment of money? I think you wouldn't even get an interview.
  - lucb1e 12y ago
    > why do you waste money on somthing that is roughly 30-50 times more expensive? This is called research and development. They're not replacing all the roads and cyclepaths with this stuff, they are testing and developing it because we will need it in the future. Also, I do not appreciate the "you" in that sentence.
    - kiba 12y ago
      This is called research and development. They're not replacing all the roads and cyclepaths with this stuff, they are testing and developing it because we will need it in the future. Sometime the idea is just outright stupid, like flying cars.
7952 12y ago
At least in the UK it can be quite tricky finding sites for larger scale solar farms. They need to be near a grid connection of the right voltage. There are also restrictions on the type of land that can be used to protect high quality agricultural land. Although it is still a silly idea
Denvercoder9 12y ago
> The limiting factor in solar panel production is cost, not places to put them. Where did you get that from? From the site of this initiative (http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/ http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/): > The total electricity consumption in the Netherlands lays around 110,000 GWh and increases annually by about 3% (according to CBS Netherlands). This means that if all suitable roofs in the Netherlands would be equipped with solar panels, they could only supply approximately 25% of the Dutch electricity demand.
- sucramb 12y ago
  All suitable roofs are not filled yet. And once they are filled -which sure takes many more years- you will still find many other more suitable places than roads which need to sustain the weight of a truck (which is a must even for a cycle track).
  - prawn 12y ago
    So no more trials until all roof space is full?
danieldk 12y ago
What problem is this solving? The limiting factor in solar panel production is cost, Depends on where you are. Ground in the Netherlands is expensive, since it has a relatively high population density. Roofs alone do not provide enough surface to provide energy to the whole population. There are many more promising sources of energy for a country with a relatively small amount of sunny days (wind, energy harvested from tides). But this is apparently just a testing strip, so supposedly they just want to test the yield, durability, etc.

by jmaslow 12y ago

sucramb 12y ago

Maybe because the local politicians are your cronies and enable grant-grabbing from the EU? For 3M€ you can put solar panels on at least at least 100 houses and not just have energy for 3 as the article states. Plus they wont degrade or be covered with plenty of dirt or snow in winter. As always, just follow the money and you can find out what's going on.

zmk_ 12y ago
You clearly have never been to the Netherlands. If there happens to be snow (which it rarely does now), bike lanes get cleared first.
- sucramb 12y ago
  I grew up in Germany not far from the dutch border and am an avid cyclist. My point is that at the time being you can produce far more efficiently solar energy with putting solar cells on roof tops and you are being ripped off tax payers money. Once you run out of roof tops there is not much of development needed to add a 1cm glass plate on top of a solar cell. It is not like developing a fusion reactor. You are legally stolen 2.7M€ because you can supply three house for just 30.000€.
lucb1e 12y ago
> grant-grabbing from the EU For the record, we contribute more money to the European Union per capita than any other member state. Source: local news a while ago, and http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/22/eu-budget-spending-contributions-european-union http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/22/eu-budg...
- sucramb 12y ago
  My goodness, I really like the Netherlands and even consider relocating to Amsterdam. It is not against the Netherlands it is against stupid politicians. Last not least I would support you with regard to you link about EU spending / receiving.

kiba 12y ago

Solar paths and solar roads is one of those cool thing until you actually think through the problems.

lucb1e 12y ago

This is directly addresses in the company's FAQ: > The total electricity consumption in the Netherlands lays around 110,000 GWh and increases annually by about 3% (according to CBS Netherlands). This means that if all suitable roofs in the Netherlands would be equipped with solar panels, they could only supply approximately 25% of the Dutch electricity demand. Even though not every rooftop has one yet due to the cost of it (and some people find it ugly, like my father, he absolutely does not want us or our neighbors to have it :/), in the long run there is also not enough space. At least, that's what the company who makes this material is saying. Even if they are biased and we assume it's only half as bad as they tell us, we're still at only 50% of the demand. Source: http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/ http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/ (under "Why would you include solar cells in the road and not next to it or on rooftops?")

sucramb 12y ago
So are those 25% suitable roofs already filled with solar cells? If not, why do you waste money on somthing that is roughly 30-50 times more expensive? And once the suitable roofs are filled are there really no other more suitable surfaces than roads? Putting it more directly: would YC think that this is a good investment of money? I think you wouldn't even get an interview.
- lucb1e 12y ago
  > why do you waste money on somthing that is roughly 30-50 times more expensive? This is called research and development. They're not replacing all the roads and cyclepaths with this stuff, they are testing and developing it because we will need it in the future. Also, I do not appreciate the "you" in that sentence.
  - kiba 12y ago
    This is called research and development. They're not replacing all the roads and cyclepaths with this stuff, they are testing and developing it because we will need it in the future. Sometime the idea is just outright stupid, like flying cars.

7952 12y ago

At least in the UK it can be quite tricky finding sites for larger scale solar farms. They need to be near a grid connection of the right voltage. There are also restrictions on the type of land that can be used to protect high quality agricultural land. Although it is still a silly idea

Denvercoder9 12y ago

> The limiting factor in solar panel production is cost, not places to put them. Where did you get that from? From the site of this initiative (http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/ http://www.solaroad.nl/en/faq/): > The total electricity consumption in the Netherlands lays around 110,000 GWh and increases annually by about 3% (according to CBS Netherlands). This means that if all suitable roofs in the Netherlands would be equipped with solar panels, they could only supply approximately 25% of the Dutch electricity demand.

sucramb 12y ago
All suitable roofs are not filled yet. And once they are filled -which sure takes many more years- you will still find many other more suitable places than roads which need to sustain the weight of a truck (which is a must even for a cycle track).
- prawn 12y ago
  So no more trials until all roof space is full?

danieldk 12y ago

What problem is this solving? The limiting factor in solar panel production is cost, Depends on where you are. Ground in the Netherlands is expensive, since it has a relatively high population density. Roofs alone do not provide enough surface to provide energy to the whole population. There are many more promising sources of energy for a country with a relatively small amount of sunny days (wind, energy harvested from tides). But this is apparently just a testing strip, so supposedly they just want to test the yield, durability, etc.