A friend sent me a link to a video from Yert, a company I know very little about but seems bent on releasing us from our dependence on oil (foreign or domestic). The video explained how they are working on “electronic solar roads” (my words, not theirs). What are they? Well, watch this:
While I cannot imagine the cost of such an endeavor, I imagine it’s about as crazy as President Eisenhower’s idea of an interstate highway system. Can you imagine your driveway and your street providing you with enough electricity to run your house? Yes, there are some significant downsides to this. What do we do at night? That continues to be an issue for current solar voltaic systems. Until we find a way to safely store electricity without the environmental impact of thousands (or billions) of batteries, we may never be able to completely rid ourselves of the need for fossil fuels. But, as technology grows, there is hope.
And if we were to create this super-voltaic highway system, what are the long-range maintenance issues? We just don’t know.
None the less, I am excited about this sort of thing!