Not Far From It Now

A Solar Highway?

Something new and exciting is brewing under the sun. Pun intended. What I am talking about is a new concept that has a lot of promise and that can revolutionize the way we commute and how we use our roads.

There is a company that goes by the name "Solar Roadways", founded by a guy named Scott Brusaw that is in the process of trying to replace all asphalt roads, parking lots and driveways, with Solar Road Panels. They call this concept an "electric road"

As you know, it isn't sunny and beautiful year round, anywhere. So what happens in the dark and stormy months of the fall and winter? Well, during weather like this, the Solar Roadway would use the energy that it has stored within its layers, to heat up the surface by melting the snow or ice and clearing the roads of hazardous materials. The Solar Roadway is comprised of 3 different layers.

• The first layer is a Road Surface Layer which is the top layer that the vehicles actually drive on. It is transparent, and is made to provide enough traction against the wheels on your car, in comparison to asphalt.

• The second layer is one that stores the solar energy in very efficient electrical storage components.

• The last layer, and most exciting of the three, is the Base Plate.

The Base Plate distributes all of the stored solar power from the second layer around to businesses and homes that are connected to the Solar Roadway.

Renewable energy sources are becoming very popular right now, even with the stars in Hollywood. Everyone and everything is "going green" these days. Scientists and scholars are constantly looking for a clean and renewable energy source to keep the world running at the rate it is going right now. The one part of Scott's business that is lacking, is being able to come up with the top transparent layer. It has been extremely difficult to find the material to make something so strong that any vehicle would be able to run smoothly on the solar road without problems. Essentially Brusaw would like his Solar Roadway to get to the point where natural disasters and storms would not leave millions out of power and resources. No matter what kind of snow storm or hurricane hits us, the energy saved and distributed by the Solar Roadway would remain untapped. Think of the possibilities of something like that.

Lives would be saved, businesses would lose money, and you could continue to go about life as normally as the day before. Another thing to consider is the possibility of replacing cars with hybrids, as well. If we had solar powered homes and businesses, and we replenished those sources just by driving around the road in our environmentally friendly hybrids...Mother Earth would thank us.

How do hybrid cars work and which ecological benefits they could bring for you and the earth in the near future.

AP - Juanes broke the record for most Latin Grammys wins, picking up three awards Thursday night.

posted by treehkczc  # 6:34 PM