this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
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Solarpunk Travel
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Community for those focused on sustainable travel. Our society's current levels of energy intensive and frequent travel are not compatible with life on a finite planet. We advocate for long-term slow travel to see the world, and low energy local travel to deeply experience your community. Green washing free zone.
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These panels are specialized to be ridden on. Probally not worth diverting funding from more traditional solar surfaces, but if you want to put panels somewhere that is already goverment owned and is absolutely out in the sun, a bike path carrying 500lbs at most is likely a great place to put more panels.
The act of making them so that can be ridden on significantly reduces their output.
Combined with laying flat instead of at a favourable angle... These solar paths and roadways are a terrible idea.... And I'm someone who loves solar.
EEVblog on YouTube goes into good detail about this.
What no one mentions is how harmful concrete (cement) is for climate. I can’t see the pics on my connection but if these things are a substitute for concrete, that could be a plus in itself assuming the GHG of these panels is low.. Though I don’t suppose that’s necessarily the case.
The energy required to produce the solar panels is huge, is even go as far to say worse than concrete.
The panels are usually embedded in a resin, or urethane or some plastic like material, extra thick too, to withstand the traffic over it.
All that combined with the reduced energy yeild from the compromised use situation... It's not great.
Solar on rooftops has far higher output per area. This better return somewhat offsets the energy that goes into them.