User:Indecisiveid/sandbox

Solar Roadways! It’s exactly what it sounds like. A. They’re solar panels that replace not just roadways, but sidewalks, parking lots, bike trails, and pretty much anything with concrete. First of all, what’s wrong with our current streets, sidewalks, etc? A. Nothing is necessarily wrong with them. They obviously have a purpose and they do their job barbarically well. 1. What do I mean by barbarically? They’re roads right? i. They help people walk, run, drive, skate and whatever else you can think of in a much more stable manner. ii. Roads are concrete and they’re simple solutions to our traveling problem. III. What are the benefits of changing them if roads already do such a good job of giving us stable ground? A. We’re not just going to be replacing them with another material. They’re going to be replaced with solar panels. 1. Not just any solar panels, they’re smart, hexagonal solar panels embedded with LED lights; all covered with a strong tempered glass material that will let the solar panels do their thing. B. How is the glass not dangerous? 1. This new transparent material has been designed and tested to meet all road requirements including being able to withstand heavy loads and provide enough traction for constant public use. C. These solar roadways will also have underground tunnels literally right next to them. 1. These tunnels will be for maintenance where people can crawl into them and replace cables when need be. 2. One part of them will house power and data lines with internet capabilities that could possibly replace the need for telephone poles that can be damaged with bad weather. IV. Again, how are these panels smart? A. One example is that the panels use energy that they collect to keep the surface of the glass slightly above freezing. 1. Theoretically, if it snows somewhere in the north, these new roads will keep the snow melted and off the streets. 2. We wouldn’t need any more of those useless “Road May Be Icy” signs anymore. 3. There would be less traffic delays and car and people accidents caused by snow and ice. 4. Salt on the streets and sidewalks wouldn’t even be needed anymore so 			there wouldn’t be any more of that corroding cars or creating cracks and potholes that wear our cars even farther when we hit them, which happens more often than wanted. B. Another example is that they have LED lights. 1. These lights can be programmed to make lanes and pathways easier to change. i. Instead of repainting roads and parking lots, all we need to do is reprogram them to our needs. 2. Driving at night would be safer with the road lit up. i. Since the hexagonal panels are also pressure sensitive, they can warn drivers ahead of time with words on the ground ahead of them, telling drivers to slow down and watch out. V. Now let’s talk money. A. In the long run, these solar panels will be paying for themselves because they run off the energy of the sun. 1. It will completely lower the cost of energy which they will essentially provide an unlimited amount of. i. Especially considering fossil fuels could run out by the early 22nd century. 2. They claim that the country will be able to generate far more power than the country uses. B. Back in June of 2014, the company founders, Scott Brusaw, and his wife Julie Brusaw raised about 2 million on a crowdfunding website called Indiegogo. 1. All from small donations as little as $5 and $50 or less. C. Although, to completely change all the roads in the country, it would cost more than $1 trillion. 1. Of course, nobody thinks about doing it all at once, and because it would be done in stages, every time we would tap into the grid as they’re built which needs to be done anyways. 2. The whole project will create more jobs to install them all considering the plan is to completely replace all roads. VI. So the question is, is it realistic? A. The concept definitely isn’t impossible. 1. For example, the sun doesn’t shine the same amount everywhere. i. If there is no sunlight then how will electricity melt the ice and snow? 2. The solar panels will need to stay efficient and to do that, they need to be kept clean. i. If you haven’t noticed, the roads get to be pretty dirty. ii. And glass does tend to be slippery when wet. B. I was reading an article and the writer compared this proposition to Elon Musk’s idea. 1. If you don’t know who he is, he’s the founder of Tesla that proposed the idea of tube trains that can travel between San Francisco and LA in half an hour. i. The trip normally takes about 6 hours. 2. Engineers kept researching that type of technology and they found that it’s definitely possible. C. So yeah the Brusaw’s idea might work. 1. It just has to be done in large stages. 2. Mostly to determine whether the dream will work or not. i. For example, they would test several kilometers of a solar roadway to prove or disprove it. D. We’re not the only one with the idea of solar roadways either. 1. The French government may be about to take a necessary test towards this technology. i. They plan on replacing 621 miles of roads with solar panels according to Australian car site Motoring. ii. These solar panel roads called Wattway were developed by a road- building company called Colas. iii. They say that they can be built over an existing road surface and will provide different levels of grip which can withstand the wear and tear of vehicles. iv. Apparently, only 13 feet of it can make enough electricity to power an average French house. 2. We’re also not the only ones that see the disadvantages to these similar solar roadways. i. The solar panels laid flat on a roadway can’t harvest as much energy as		the ones mounted on roofs. 3. Not just France but even a Dutch company called Solar Road began laying solar panels on a bike path near Amsterdam a whole year ago.

VII. So what have we learned today? . 	A. Current roads are useless. 1. They don’t generate electricity 2. They always need to be repaired and maintained. 3. With the technology we have currently, it’s possible to make them useful. B. Solar roadways. 1. They’re roads covered with durable solar panels that produce electricity 2. Since they’re individual hexagons that produce energy, it will create money and maintaining them will be easier since they can each be individually replaced. 3. They have LED lights that can be programmed and reprogrammed to our needs. C. They’re expensive. 1. Sure they were able to crowdfund a bunch of money but it was only for experimenting the possibility of making them real. 2. Don’t forget that it won’t all be done at once anyways even if it will cost more than 1 trillion dollars. D. In the end, it’s possible. 1. Maybe not in the current state that it’s in but it’s not impossible.