The world's first solar road has turned out to be a colossal failure that's falling apart ...

[OnlinePoker]

... and doesn't generate enough energy

Solar roads were promised to be one of the biggest unprecedented revolutions of our time, not just in the field of renewable energy but in the energy sector generally.

Covering 2,800 square meters, Normandy's solar road was the first in the world, inaugurated in 2016, in Tourouvre-au-Perche, France.

Despite the hype surrounding solar roads, two years after this one was introduced as a trial, the project has turned out to be a colossal failure — it's neither efficient nor profitable, according to a report by Le Monde.

The unfortunate truth is that this road is in such a poor state, it isn't even worth repairing. Last May, a 100-meter stretch had deteriorated to such a state that it had to be demolished.

https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-first-solar-road-turned-out-colossal-failure-2019-8

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Can't say I'm surprised. Putting panels flat on the ground instead of angled towards the sun and then driving vehicles over them all day was a recipe for failure.

[Rollo]

1. I hear Donny is coming out with a line of solar toupes...

[FBaggins]

2. Must be fake news

I had it on good authority that France would have hundreds of miles of the stuff in the next couple years.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/112796370

[OnlinePoker]

3. I miss the Kristopher/NNadir battles of wills we used to see. n/t

[defacto7]

7. It seems that Kristopher left the room a couple of years ago.

NNadir still posts some excellent material in the Science group.

[Boxerfan]

4. The 1st auto-hell anything-is not likely to work as planned.

That's why God invented tinker's & people who strive to perfect things. For some it is our very nature.

To make a design-call it done on 1st attempt is foolish. So is this as a example.

[SeattleVet]

5. These are failing in pretty much every example.

David Jones (Australian engineer) of the EEVblog YouTube channel has been covering these solar roads (and sidewalks, etc.) for quite a while. He ran the numbers a couple of years ago and has been telling everyone that these were a colossal waste of money and labor. Now several of them have failed, some even worse than he had expected.

https://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog/

[Boxerfan]

6. Solar roads is a misnomer I think.

If you limit the topic to those that are driven on or walked on there are lots of issues. But it works very well in pods or units-individual or large numbers. replaceable-serviceable & on a median or other unused strip. And they work fine.