3 ms·

Here's a photo. It's a bike path between two towns, and about 2000 cyclists per day ride on it. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/05/worlds-first

by panarky 12y ago

Here's a photo. It's a bike path between two towns, and about 2000 cyclists per day ride on it. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/05/worlds-first-solar-cycle-lane-opening-in-the-netherlands http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/05/worlds-fi...

ChrisGranger 12y ago
It cost three million euros but can only power three houses? A million euros to use solar to power a house? Am I missing something?
- learnstats2 12y ago
  Since this is the first prototype, I'm guessing the R&D cost that much. You're installing cycle track plus power generation infrastructure in one hit. Neither of those things is cheap on its own, e.g.: "Cycle track costs at anywhere between £100,000 and £900,000 [per km]" from https://transportretort.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/how-much-would-cycle-paths-cost/ https://transportretort.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/how-much-wo...
- fche 12y ago
  Government economics, working as designed.
  - learnstats2 12y ago
    >Government economics, working as designed. You've been downvoted perhaps because it's not clear if you're being sarcastic, but I agree earnestly. The primary purpose of government is to organise things that benefit people: and they only need to do this when business can't or won't. Governments should act as a balance to the negative aspects of capitalism. As such, I genuinely believe that governments should be "uneconomic".
- jkestner 12y ago
  Do you know how much the first Apple Watch to come off the line cost? Billions. R&D cost gets amortized through mass production; this is what it looks like at the beginning.
- IkmoIkmo 12y ago
  Consider that the cost of a kilometre of ordinary road is a few million dollars, and that prototypes are orders of magnitude more expensive than a mass produced optimised supply chain with economies of scale.

3 ms·

Here's a photo. It's a bike path between two towns, and about 2000 cyclists per day ride on it. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/05/worlds-first

by panarky 12y ago

ChrisGranger 12y ago
It cost three million euros but can only power three houses? A million euros to use solar to power a house? Am I missing something?
- learnstats2 12y ago
  Since this is the first prototype, I'm guessing the R&D cost that much. You're installing cycle track plus power generation infrastructure in one hit. Neither of those things is cheap on its own, e.g.: "Cycle track costs at anywhere between £100,000 and £900,000 [per km]" from https://transportretort.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/how-much-would-cycle-paths-cost/ https://transportretort.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/how-much-wo...
- fche 12y ago
  Government economics, working as designed.
  - learnstats2 12y ago
    >Government economics, working as designed. You've been downvoted perhaps because it's not clear if you're being sarcastic, but I agree earnestly. The primary purpose of government is to organise things that benefit people: and they only need to do this when business can't or won't. Governments should act as a balance to the negative aspects of capitalism. As such, I genuinely believe that governments should be "uneconomic".
- jkestner 12y ago
  Do you know how much the first Apple Watch to come off the line cost? Billions. R&D cost gets amortized through mass production; this is what it looks like at the beginning.
- IkmoIkmo 12y ago
  Consider that the cost of a kilometre of ordinary road is a few million dollars, and that prototypes are orders of magnitude more expensive than a mass produced optimised supply chain with economies of scale.