Solar Road & Lithium Anxiety | Fully Charged News

[@JRP3]

"Here's the thing, we don't know yet." Actually we do know, it's basic physics and engineering. We don't need a real world experiment to verify what we already know, i.e. that solar panels which aren't angled don't produce as much as those that are, or that dirty panels don't produce as much as clean, or that panels with vehicles covering them don't produce as much as unshaded panels, or that roads see much more abuse than rooftops or stand alone panels, etc. There is no possible "experiment" taking place which will change any of that. However the panels perform on the roads they will of course perform better pretty much anywhere else, and it's not as if we are lacking areas to place conventional panels. Any panel placed on a roadway is wasted solar material, not to mention wasted time and money which could be better spent elsewhere.

[@WeirdSeagul]

I think rather than investing in solar roadways at the moment we should cover all our empty roofs first. We can come back to roads when most of our roofs are covered

[@CapitanRastrero]

Frothar exactly

[@davepermen]

State owns the roads, but not our rooftops. So they cant just put it there. They can, though, put oads to use

[@chrisgurney2467]

I'd cover the public carparks with solar panels, cooler cars in summer, keeps the rain off and the panels collect energy

[@MurphyTJ]

There's also tons of public buildings to cover.

[@kalleguld]

Why can't we do both? Use some money on covering our roofs and some money on making research for the future.

[@Electroblud]

Thunderf00t and EEVblog both do *NOT* say it will not work. It *will* work. It however is an unpractical Idea because it would be ridiculously expensive and inefficient compared to regular solar panels. EVEN if you use magical and somehow extremely cheap sci-fi materials (like 1€ per 100 m²), you could just remove the glass, put the panels on the side of the road and they would still be better.

[@cameronbyers3149]

I wouldn't put Thunderf00t into this, he's pretty much skeptical about everything.

[@Electroblud]

@Henrik Wallin Well the largest cost is still the solar panels. And maybe the ultra durable glass surface. But even when using sci-fi grade materials, the problem persists that you will get about 1/2 the energy compared to putting solar panels right next to the road. And that is on a bicycle lane (solaroad in Netherlands) which doesn't nearly have the level of stresses an actual road would have (Dirt, heavy traffic, cars and trucks emergency braking etc). @Cam Byers Well yes he is. It's good to know when someone is trying to sell you BS. Skepticism is not just about talking ideas down. Skepticism is wanting data to back up the claims. If Someone can provide me data that Solar roadways are comparable efficiency and cost wise (which they can't for above mentioned reasons), I will be happy to accept it. And I'm sure he would be too.

Which, Cam Byers, is obviously a good trait.

[@Electroblud]

Pretty much anything you can do with solar panels is cheaper and more efficient that solar roadways. So yes. Now I do not know of any instances of panels above the road, but I have seen a lot of solar farm directly next to roads. They are a very cheap source of power (for solar that is) because land right next to highways is quite inexpensive and they can use the excavated material that usually forms a long hill along the roads as a free angled surface to mount the panels.

They were babbling about the American one not the French one.

[@Azurren]

As a massive fan of Solar / Green technology I truly detest the idea of solar roadways.. Most of the arguments / debunks are valid. Investing millions in solar roadways will permanently damage public opinion of solar technology when it doesn't work. And it *WON'T* work. (Unless our model of physics completely breaks down).

[@Strangething90]

They will eventually pay themselves back (assuming they don't break often), but nowhere near as fast as angled panels on rooftops. but i can see a benefit where the roads are helping to make money which can then be used to repair said roads.. rather than rely on speeding tickets.

[@bradleyhuffstetler4794]

I had been thinking "why not?" on solar roads until I read your comment. Totally correct about preserving the public opinion on solar, especially when it comes to the U.S. Solar is on a good track with lowering cost and increasing efficiency - it should keep its head down, stay on the straight and narrow and continue positive perception until it's literally dirt cheap and ready for such exploratory measures.

[@Hagledesperado]

"assuming they don't break often" Well that's easy then: Just don't use them as roads. Oh wait ...

[@veritasvincit433]

+Azurren are you from the future? How do you know these solar panels WON'T work?

[@Hagledesperado]

The problem is not that they won't work - they will. The problem is how poorly they will work.

[@MikaelLAOhman]

The whole problem with the solar roadways complaints is that it's simply the *least* useful way to put up solar panels. You can't angle them. The surface gets very very dirty. Huge amount of wear and tear. Worse road surface. And for what benefit? Did we run out of all other available space to put them? No we didnt. The "nay-sayers" aren't saying no to solar panels. They are saying NO to putting them on the road surface. I'm all on board with "solar-fricking-roofs". Not every wild idea is worth testing out. There has to at least be some motivation to why it even just *might* be a good idea. Otherwise we could just literally dick around with any random idea for years after years, and just dismiss anyone who isn't on board the hype train as a pessimistic nay-sayer.

[@freibier]

Exactly. None of the solar roadway criticism is towards solar panels. It is towards solar roadways compared to other solar panel solutions. None of the solar roadway fans so far have been able to explain why we should build solar roadways *instead of putting the solar panels somewhere else*. Sometimes the fans say "well, the roads are already there, so why not use them?" But other public space is *also* there and has not been used yet for solar panels, and it is easier to build them there (on roofs of public buildings, on unused space *next* to roads, etc.). It is worth thinking about solar roads *after* all the easier places to use solar panels have been used. But not now.

[@TheBrentieman]

Dave Jones (EEVBlog) has some pretty good videos on why solar roads might not be the best solution. He also has one where he uses real-world data (from an actual solar bike path in the Netherlands) and compares it to a regular rooftop installation. Interesting stuff.

[@TheBrentieman]

I could not agree more. Why don't the (financial) supporters of solar roads just go and fund solar installations above - for instance - car parks, buildings, ...

"Asphalt, which is already pretty cheap, still costs the Government billions a year to maintain. " Which government is this?

[@Markle2k]

The problem with his reasoning is that there aren't any roofs to put panels on. You'll have to build those roofs and ruin view all year round and the ride in summer in order to do that. I don't see these as a way to power a town with lots of rooftop space, but rather, a way to bring power out to a place where it would be prohibitively expensive and inefficient to run a power line. We already do this on a smaller scale with emergency telephones and streetlights.

[@TheBrentieman]

Or, you know, you could just put them on the ground like people have been doing for years in solar farms.

[@freibier]

And that does not even include the added problems of having to replace failed segments of the solar road with *identical* parts (i.e. parts which have the same size/construction/electrical connections etc.). If your asphalt road has a hole which needs fixing, it does not matter if the initial construction company has gone out of business, any other one will do the job, too. But what if the company which created the solar road panels has gone out of business? Where do you get identical replacement road segments? (especially if they are "solar freaking roadways" ones which communicate with each other to control LED lighting, heating, whatever)

[@Nibooss]

There is already data for solar roads. In the Netherlands, there is a solar Bikeway. It cost 3000000€ (about 8 times as much as normal bikeways). Other Solar Rooftop installations in the Area produced about 4.5 times as much electricity.

[@revengefrommars]

Simplest, shortest explanation of why solar roadways don't make sense: they're a solution in search of a problem. What "problem" are they trying to "solve"? Not enough places to put solar panels? That's not a problem. Plenty of space on rooftops, or in grassy fields. And those locations are better in almost every respect. The panels are cheaper since they don't have to be strong enough to hold up to road traffic, they're angled towards the sun which is significantly more efficient, and if road work is needed they don't need to be pulled back up and put down again.Next week on "solution in search of a problem": noisemakers on electric cars so blind people can hear them coming and jump out of the way.

[@Hagledesperado]

"they're a solution in search of a problem" You nailed it!

[@ScorchedEarthRevenge]

*noisemakers on electric cars so blind people can hear them coming and jump out of the way* My Nissan Leaf already has one of these.

[@dr-k1667]

I am so glad I was on the couch when the interpretive dance happened. I almost passed out from laughing. Thanks so much for that and of course for what's to come.

[@ScornDefeat]

I think I'm going to need a lie down myself after watching that interpretive dance...

[@LastofAvari]

Solar roads can work, but they're ineffective and expensive IMO. We'll see anyway, I guess. EDIT: and by "work" I mean that they'll produce a bit of electricity, not a worthy amount of it. I mostly agree with Dave of EEVblog. The road is a really bad place to embed solar panels in from what I can understand. Hopefully it's all not funded from taxpayers' money :)

[@dad2jmcnb]

I kind of agree but at this stage of development most new technologies are certainly expensive. It's an idea well worth trying thought and I certainly hope it's a success - would love to have them here in oz!

[@barrykaine6526]

nbkcq28+ Solar roofs are far more practical, there is far less wear and tear, and maintenance; and the user of the power is right there, so no need for extensive infrastructure. Solar roads are an diversion.

[@LastofAvari]

Yeah. I mostly agree with Dave's of EEVblog point.

[@Hagledesperado]

I would hardly call solar roads a technology though. Bad analogy time: If you hot glued a flat screen TV to the handlebars of your bicycle, nobody would call that a new technology. It would be better described as a bodge, and a pointless one at that. The same goes for solar roads. Now, the bodgeness could be alleviated over time, by throwing enough money into engineering. The pointlessness, not so much.

[@LastofAvari]

I meant that you can produce a bit of electricity, but, of course, that doesn't make any economical sense due to low efficiency (especially if you put panels into roads) and high maintenance cost.

[@thoperSought]

Robert, I strongly agree, *in general,* when you say, (2:52) _"the engineers behind the project might have thought through one or two of the problems...",_ and, (3:09) _"... until we have some actual data."_ the problem is that, in this case, I think it's clear that they accepted reduced power output compared to a traditional installation, and we actually _do_ have data from an actual roadway-style installation, which matches data from non-roadway installations of solar panels. I'll grant that the scale is different, but this is not an area where the effect is scale dependent. the solar cycleway in Amsterdam tests all of the important aspects around power generation in a roadway, and (obv. within a margin of error) performed exactly as predicted: it generated much less than a comparable area of roof-mounted panels would have produced, at a much higher cost. buildings stand because of engineer's calculations: you can't say we don't know. until we've _run out_ of other places to put solar panels, roadways have been clearly shown to be a waste-exactly as predicted.

[@funny-video-YouTube-channel]

This solar road panels could be installed on bridges, because the bridges have a speed limit, they are already in sunny places and they are so expensive that adding solar panels is not going to make a difference in cost. Bridges is the perfect location for this idea.

[@theatrethechieofawes]

The quality content you all are making is really awesome! Keep it coming!

[@markcornwall8132]

I think since you have finished playing Kryten you have definately been affected. My 5 year old grandson just asked "Whats wrong with that man Grandad" Personally found you quite normal, but I have other issues.

[@fullychargedshow]

I'm still occasionally playing Kryten, not that this explains anything, and please apologise to your grandson. I feel such shame

[@gregorycropper9521]

Oh my goodness, when you were dancing around in your underwear singing about how solar roadways are "bullshit" I thought I would wet my pants.

[@terrancel1786]

mdad hdad who really cares what you think I mean really?! that expression means "I'm sick of dumb ass people like you!"

[@Biskawow]

this guy played Kryten??? WOW my whole life was a lie! omg

[@georgepreston7845]

don't forget his many TV appearances, e.g. Bottom

[@bala5984]

omg, that dance routine!! I laughed so hard, haha

[@Henchman1977]

The difference with +eevblog 's bullsh1t determination (keeping in mind that Dave is a proponent of solar panels having them installed on his own property) is he was able to demonstrate through basic, conservative, back-of-the-napkin calculations that solar roadways will be less efficient and more expensive than other types of solar installations leaving the only reason to install a solar roadway one of vanity, not economics.

[@lillydoye7418]

Based based on eevblog's video I would like to politely disagree with you views on the need to wait for data. Based on all best case figures the designers have supplied they just won't match the efficiency of conventional rooftop solar. The difference seems very significant, although I would still love to be proved wrong.

[@user-py9cy1sy9u]

You wont be proven wrong

[@tomduke1297]

"Dude! i developed a new kind of solarpanel! it only costs 5 times more to produce, 8 times more to install and 10 times more to maintain, but heres the kicker! it produces nearly 20% the electricity of a normal solarpanel!" this is upfront information! yeah, we realy need to invest millions to make sure it realy is as useless as it says on the can. you realy want to tell me that if i come to your house and pitch that new solarpanel for your driveway, that you would consider it?

[@biggest23]

Why drive on solar panels when urban areas have thousands of hectares of unexploited roof space, conveniently located and beyond the destructive reach of fully loaded 18 wheelers? Why do dumb shit and then smart shit, when you can do smart shit first and bypass the dumb shit bit altogether?

[@Markle2k]

Because urban areas aren't the only areas with a demand for power for safety devices and lighting. In fact, many rural areas where farms are, it is currently impractical to run a powerline to every intersection. Buried cable is expensive and overhead lines are vulnerable to weather and theft and create safety hazards. Why are all of the anti- arguments so easily addressed by pointing out their short-sightedness?

[@biggest23]

I live in a very rural area and there is no need for power at virtually any intersection because there are no traffic lights or street lamps required at them. The pro arguments are derived from a world that exists almost exclusively in the minds of those that are pro arguers. Reality doesn't care about feefees and emotional investment, it just is. Incidentally, all those farms you're talking about, already have power running to them. How do you think that got there mate?

[@Hagledesperado]

"Buried cable is expensive" ... says the person advocating solar roads. "and overhead lines are vulnerable" ... see above. "Why are all of the anti- arguments so easily addressed by pointing out their short-sightedness?" ... what is this I don't even

[@biggest23]

Hagledesperado Well said mate.

[@Markle2k]

Hagledesperado Overhead lines cost about $10/ft. That's over $50,000/mi. Buried cable costs about 2-4 times that. That's the cost to have it run from the road to your house for 240 volt single phase, not the cost for distribution-level lines. Distribution-level lines (the 12kV lines that run down the street) cost about $1M/mile to bury. More if there are geological challenges. From a CNN story on undergrounding power lines: A 2010 study on undergrounding a portion of the electricity system in the District of Columbia for the Public Service Commission found that costs would increase rapidly as utilities tried to underground more of their service territory. The study concluded that a $1.1 billion (in 2006 dollars) investment could improve the reliability for 65% of the customers in the utility's service territory, but an additional $4.7 billion would be required to affect the remaining 35% of customers in outlying areas. That is, over 80% of the costs for the project would be required to benefit roughly one third of the customers.

[@Tailgunner30]

A fun and informative episode, but I do not think I will recover from the interpretive dance routine. I think most of the criticism of Solar roadways has been around the hype, particularly of the American system. The only installation of which barely worked at all, and needed supplementary power for the lights. As to the French system, it is simpler but, simple common sense says that angling the solar tiles toward the sun would make the system more efficient, producing more power per unit area. And inevitable wear and tear will probably cause failures and require significant investment in maintenance. Oh and at least here. Whoo Hoo First... BTW, As an honourable Patron, have I missed my mention, If I have can you point me to the episode, so that I may bask in my 5 seconds of fame :)

[@fullychargedshow]

Once again, I cannot apologise enough, that is if I haven't mentioned your name yet, of course I may have but I don't know your name from this comment. Keeping track of all the names of $10+ Patreons has proven very difficult. The list keeps changing... and thankfully growing. I am struggling to get them all in, I will get there soon.

[@Tailgunner30]

Ah of course, my nom de plume, well I do resist divulging my real identity, for the sake of my super-hero status. (I wish!). If I weren't a saint, Salome would have my head!

[@Tailgunner30]

An apology is not required. Your shows are always informative, and often help in discussions with friends and colleagues around these topics. I look forward to the next one.

If I can sit through the Rimmer song, I can tolerate this.

[@cuddles6938]

Robert maybe add a outro to the videos showing a thanks to your "new" Patron supporters. This way everyone gets a mention and have it run for say 30 days or so? Have seen this done on TechMoans channel so he doesn't miss anyone.

[@MaartenvanRossemLezingen]

Why would you put them on a road, on which people drive their cars. There's a million cheaper, more efficient places to put solar panels, places people don't walk or drive on, roofs being one of them, but there's also deserts, barns, parking lots where it would also function as shaders, aircraft hangars, housing bubble ghost towns, lakes with poisonous water (using floats). Seriously, why roads, when you have all these more economical choices that don't japordize safety? Because politicians are stupid? Or am I wrong?

[@MyLameAnimations]

Man, your experimental dance interpretation was amazing! I never knew you were so talented. Thanks for the good information in your videos.

[@sirierieott5882]

Love the jaunty humour and graphic delights! - keep up the very good work!

[@QALibrary]

there is loads of data - in Holland and France they made a number of paths and cycle lines and at best they only 20-30% efferent thus they do not cover there costs (unless you leave them down 100-200 years and that do not lose efficiency over time and there no repairs or replacements parts) QED there better ways to use and place them - eg over the road on a frame or over parking areas etc ~ most of the data in public and available via KZbin and Google, let alone looking up science journals

[@DTRproductions]

i came for tech news but i stayed for the dancing :)

[@leerman22]

EEV blog has already studied the data and found that per installed watt it only makes half the KWh compared to a rooftop install. This just looks like a bigger version of that solar sidewalk.

[@JoeyRodz74]

Here's two more ideas for the French solar road lady: - Have fully charged electric cars stationed every 100 miles of road. When people get there, they can just swap their cars and keep going. - Divide the country into two area and make huge dirt mountains on each. Make a road on each that slopes down to the other area. People can just slide down to the other side, no charging needed! Both of these will work but THEY ARE NOT F'ING PRACTICAL!!!

[@fdk7014]

Right, there is no shortage of Lithium. Most likely there is a lot more than that available too once people start looking for it. Cobalt on the other hand is a little bit trickier. The biggest supplier of cobalt is western Africa, from mines that are run under atrocious conditions.

[@Way2Death]

I can definitely understand the criticism behind solar roads to a certain point. In my opinion we should try to get more solar on our buildings first. But after that space is exerted, having you solar power on the road is much better than having huge fields of solar panels taking up space that might be used better (nature/farming/living)

[@freibier]

Yes, solar roads definitely are an option - once, like you said, *all other space (like roofs) has been covered with solar panels*. The thing which annoys so many about those solar road projects is that solar roads are presented as the ultimate solution to all our electricity needs and that we should cover all our roads with solar panels right now, when we have not even begun to use all the other, easier, places to put solar panels.

[@jobsagoodun]

Thank you Robert, the dance was amusing, and we appreciate it for what it was. I wish I spoke one of those languages that had a separate tense for the distant past vs recent past, I'd be using that to make it seem more distant in my mind. It is one of those things that - if you have to do it at all - should be done once only... and never done again... ever! Kudos though for trying it (once only and never again), hopefully it will bring some viral viewers or something.

[@peterfaber9316]

There's a bike path in the Netherlands that has solar panels in it. 250 feet long and like 4 feet wide. Been running over a year already. 3000 kwh generated in 6 months. Since you were wondering about testing data, google it. There are articles about it in english.

[@alasdairpage]

@fullychargedshow I'd be more than happy to sit through three hours of renewables news from you Robert. W00t! 🎉

[@samuelprice538]

Thank you Robert for such a well balanced piece on solar roadways, so many "experts" have criticised them without the data to back up their criticism. Solar roads do not need to be as 'efficient' as panels on a roof and neither do they need to be as 'cheap' as a normal road. There are 2 factors, the 'Total cost of ownership' and 'Total environmental impact'. The first can be calculated by comparing the total cost to install and maintain a normal road over the coarse of its life and then compare that to the cost to install and maintain the solar road over the coarse of its life, minus the money it makes from the generated electricity, equalised for the differing life times. If after that calculation the solar road cost is lower then it makes sense financially. The second is like the first but using the environmental impacts, with the solar road earning negative environmental impact for all the electricity it generates. Robert is bang on the knuckle about the data. Right now we have no idea what the likely amount of generation the panels will get, obviously less than if mounted high directed at the sun, but that is only part of the calculation. As far as costs go, we have lots of data for traditional roads, but no idea for this new technology. Chances are good that the cost will plummet as solar panels continually get cheaper and ways to mass produce the road panels are developed. Once we have good data on the cost to maintain these road panels and their likely lifespan, we can calculate the break even cost to produce and install them. Once a way to produce them below this point is developed installing solar roads will be a no-brainer. In addition to (total) cost savings of solar roads (eventually, maybe, depending on the data), there could be other benefits that make installing them (even if they cost more) worthwhile, such as auto frost clearing (saving the costs to have to send out salt spreaders), and reduced accidents due to sudden unexpected frosting, amongst other things. If the american panels are ever cheaper (in total) then costs for installing the street lights on remote highways could be removed too as I believe they contain lighting. I applaud the efforts of both the french and the american solar road experiments. Once we have a sufficient amount of data we will know when solar roads will if ever be the best option.

[@RadanovicDanijel]

that dancing almost made me unsubscribe...don't do that again, ever.

[@fullychargedshow]

I promise not to. :-)

[@RadanovicDanijel]

Thank you! Besides that, I love your show!

[@xXShOOtYXx8]

promise me you will make more , You make me laugh so hard, I really like your silly faces in all your videos :):):):)

[@Maxtez]

xXShOOtYXx I was also hovering above the unsubscribe button.

[@RadanovicDanijel]

why insulting?

[@bulman07]

I don't think I've ever even seen an advert for the Nissan Leaf. Loads for the Qashqai, Juke, and X-Trail.

[@heheheheheeho]

I highly suggest you guys to check out EEVBlogs episodes on solar roadways if you want to get the best critique from an engineers perspective! I hope that they may be feasable in the future, though. I'm hopefull.

[@grahammcdonald]

The 'Lava lamp twisted man of doubt' needs to become a regular! 😂

[@coniow]

After reading quite a few comments below on solar roads, no one appears to have looked at the other side of the 'coin,' That is gathering data on the practicality for maintenance and the potential longevity of a tiled roadway. The usual system of road construction dates back to the romans and has one main flaw: once there is a small break in the Tarmac surface, rain water will seep into the layer below, freeze and expand in the cold, lifting the top layer up, that gets cleared away with passing traffic, becoming a small hole, and if left, a pot hole. At which point the road needs rebuilding down to 18 inches or more. (This is NOT cheep). If this is not done, the best resurfacing job will last less than a year. (I have seen this in practice locally: one section was rebuilt properly, the next bit along just skimmed. The latter was 'holding water' in 6 months, then started to break up. Big holes in less than a year. The rebuilt section: OK 2 years later.) My question: What is the comparable cost of replacing a tile? The 'roadway' must have some kind of drainage built in. So build a section and test it! Good on the French for doing so!

[@Forssa1]

Even if it "works", it is still a very poor use of resources when compared to an optimized solution. The solar roadways concept needs to die.

[@robroysyd]

Indeed the world has good supplies of lithium. It's main use is in ceramics, tyres, steel. Only a small percentage is used in batteries. The price recently went up 10x because of an increase in demand and because it's a mineral that takes time to increase extraction of. Lithium is not the main concern with Li-Ion batteries anyway, its cobalt. I recall this being pointed out in a previous episode.

[@spiltcore]

I'm glad someone mentioned cobalt. It's a conflict mineral, and seems unavoidable for high energy density Li-ion batteries. That's not a complete deal-breaker for me, but definitely something to take account of.

[@Rufeo0]

Its not that it wont work its that its far more efficient for a number of reasons to put the solar panels on the roofs of all the buildings next to the roads instead.

[@JeanLoupRSmith]

The really funny thing about "Tourouvre" is that it sounds like "Everything is reopening" in some forms of slang anyway :)

[@benns6689]

Ahh now I understand. More dance communication please - its so effective and obviously a hidden talent! Thanks agin for a cracking summary of facts with a dollup of humour - much appreciated

[@michaeledward5819]

Happy new year! I love the content on this chanel and always look ford to the next episode, thank you fully charged.

[@knifeyonline]

5:30 is the most amazing silly face you've done that doesn't remind me much of kryten. I love all your crazy faces but this one is a keeper!

[@JehanKateli]

I read somewhere that the solar road in France can only produce enough electricity to power the street lights.

[@JoeDobias]

`love it love it love it' the show of course, production level is so good.. keep it going! oh and of course the information is on point. Thank youu

[@bmapes16]

Statoil got a stake of approximately 20% in Athabasca Oil Corp when they sold their oil sands assets, I would hardly call that a divestment.....

[@hullo122]

Really interesting video, and perhaps the most entertaining one yet! The "woot" really got me!

[@NicoSchurr]

in Europe hubject is very present. It contains many providers on their map including pricing, availability, plug type and you can charge anywhere with your one intercharge cart. It seems like in GB there are only two intercharge ready chargers or so

[@robsmith1a]

How about in between the tracks on railway lines - they are only covered a tiny percentage of the time.

[@artkincell]

Please, please, PLEASE take the interpretive dance show on the road to fully educate the public on solar roads. ;-) Maybe it will make it to major theaters. There have been three electric Ford Focuses (?) on the local Ford dealer's lot for the last two months. Nary an advert, and yes, when I inquired about one, they steered me towards a Mustang. Here in the US we need more hydro plants, in my humble opinion. There are tons of small mill type places here in New England and Upstate New York, (As you covered in a Fully Charged episode years ago- I believe it's the first LEAF episode also) that would be ideal for small hydro plants. And! There is tons of space in Upstate New York where a company could put thousands of wind farms and they would be out of the way of most people's complaints. Great informative episode, as always!

[@philatkinson883]

Agree about what car sales staff are saying at the dealers. One chap said "yeah, electric, what difference can one person make?"

[@xXShOOtYXx8]

These are my favourite videos you make :) they are very informative and want me to research more about the things you said , keep up the good work :):):):) and keep doing these episodes regularly please!

[@johnbenton4488]

On the subject of advertising, had it not been for YT I would be completely in the dark about the existence etc of EVs and renewable sources of electricity generation. Thanks to people like you I am now fully(?) informed.

[@Tvirus12]

quickly becoming my favorite youtube show, right up there with Marques Brownlee

[@TimothyWhiteheadzm]

So why did a solar roadway get built? Simple. If someone had proposed putting solar panels up in a car park as roofing, or a line of panels along the side of the road, they would have been told to make it profitable. If, however, someone sells the idea as 'an experiment' or 'brilliant innovation' then they can charge many many times the amount to build it and it doesn't even need to work at the end of the day.

Statoil is getting into renewables because of Norwegian government. Norway is pushing hard into zero emissions cars and if Statoil doesn't follow... they will get into big problems. They also sell to Germany, and France, and both countries are also wanting to end with motor cars.

[@sdwpaul]

no... No. NOOO! Properly angled solar panels over the roadway that are easily accessible for maintenance. And trees planted on the side of the road, God damn it! There's nothing more efficient than a God damn tree. Plus, you need to have something to crash a driver-less car into.

[@Vectorlover3]

I never want to see that improv dancing again in my entire life! I will have nightmares now, thanks Robert.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

roads seem like poor places to put solar energy harvesting infrastructure, but it's likely that they would be beneficial overall, and could probably be made to work. Too early to pass judgment. Good for the Norwegian company for investing in a piece of the planet's future, instead of in ruining it! Just changed brakes on my old diesel car today, and was thinking about how long brakes would last if i had regenerative braking. Then there is everything else that can go wrong, much of which will not be an issue, or less of one, with electric cars. thank for doing this show, as it provides a bright spot in my day every time i see it!

[@driveev5042]

Interpretive dance makes EVERYTHING better

[@dragonskunkstudio7582]

Going the extra mile! I don't see Thunderfoot do a "It won't work" dance!

[@clapps611]

Am I the only person who thinks that in the very near future we will all be working from home. I live in the Uk and over the last 50 years our economy has moved to be based mostly in the service industries. Why would any company pay for a building and all of its associated overheads, when it can get its workers to logon from home over the internet, and if they ever consider teaching children over the internet then for the majority of the population the only real use of a car would be for fun.

[@justsomeguy934]

Love the video, as usual. I find your personifications marvelous, and you do a better American accent than most Americans (I'm an American). BTW, I constantly reference your videos in online discussions about EVs - you share facts and give a balanced review of the technology.

[@davidmullins5987]

A glass road surface which remains optically clear is not possible. let's just start by putting traditional solar panels over the roads. This would be way more efficient. As a bonus this would shade the vehicles, reducing ac use and in turn reducing fuel consumption.

[@cuddles6938]

Your viewers may be pleased to know the new Chevy BOLT/Ampera-E uses LG Chem Lithium Ion battery packs. Love my LG G5 phone, the battery lasts quite a while before I have had to recharge it. Although with Nougat 7.0 it might be a tad less then before, I am sure more optimized updates will remedy the tiny problem.

[@CorwynGC]

The trouble with waiting to see if it will work, is that some of us can do math(s). This allows us to predict what will happen in the future given an understanding of the principles involved. Solar roads are just more expensive and less efficient than normal roads, and solar on rooftops. Nor does there appear to be any way to change that; any improvement would be applicable to normal roads and rooftop solar.

[@mbe102]

I went over to another tab, and then started hearing you go wild and literally WTF'd when I tabbed back. Haha. This is a good episode, tights and all.

[@rogerhudson9732]

Offshore wind farms have one very stupid problem (for us , not them). There is a legal one kilometer no-sail zone around each tower, but they build them closer than one kilometer apart so large areas, particularly north of the Thames estuary are becoming hard to navigate (legally).

[@soundslave]

Most people don't have a garage/driveway to park their cars on at night. We can't charge via our home power supply since our cars are out on the road outside or a car park. Being able to charge while out and about is the only viable option.

[@morkovija]

Can we have fullycharged musical of some sort as a patreon goal?=) That was pure art, right there

[@thinfourth]

You live in the UK I live in the UK Lets be honest the UK struggles to maintain a normal road which is made of gravel and some sticky stuff. The chances of them managing to maintain a aolar road is less then zero

[@SadmanStudios]

I think it is time for some Fully Charged merch. T-SHIRTS, stickers, badges, caps, even shoes. Got some great Sea Shepherd shoes recently.

[@philrabe910]

Oh yah, the solar road thing: Great idea for when all the easy to panel rooftops have been covered and we're looking for fresh PV pastures.

[@davidarf]

You rightly call for a simplification of the payment process for public charging facilities, but why, why, why is there any need for membership cards, fobs or mobile phone software. What is more simple than paying per KWH by debit or credit card. This would have the added benefit of forcing suppliers to publish their price per KWH, making the whole process completely transparent and universal. The lack of this and the complexity of the choices of plugs and cables is, I think, putting off a significant number of potential EV owners.

[@boxertest]

Happy New Year Fully Charged :-)

[@kensmith5694]

We do know: The panel is not pointed at the sun It costs more than one on the roof Glass is not a good road surface Remember that the energy market will hopefully some day be all based on the cost of solar power. The price will be set by the lower cost method (AKA the panels on the roof). Any system that costs more than the lower cost option won't end up paying for its self.

[@Friek555]

Solar roadways are just an idiotic idea. Just putting panels next to the road, instead of under it, is: - much more efficient - much safer - much cheaper

[@garethglover]

The exact same thing happened to me at my local Volkswagen garage I asked to see the e-golf and was persuaded to test drive the diesel version instead because of range anxiety I opted for the GTE instead.

[@Pikminiman]

If solar roadway engineers can sort out the cleanliness and efficiency issues, I'm all for it. But those are supremely important before large-scale deployment.

[@KindellArmstrong]

Your interpretive dance what's inspirational ！bravo bravo encore

[@CluebotUK]

Indeed, lithium's not going to be a major problem. It's easy to mine; just pump lithium-rich brines into evaporation pools and the salt precipitates out. The geology required to find this resource isn't uncommon either. On the other hand, cobalt _could_ be a problem. It's used in all high performance Li-ion cell chemistries, and its contribution to cell cost is substantially more than the (small) lithium content. Cobalt is a by-product from mining copper. About two thirds of global supply comes from the Congo - which is a rather unpleasant place to do business. They have most of the world's known reserves.

[@citroNord]

You're crazy...! And I love it! LOL Thanks to you and you team !

[@globetlottel]

That dance made my breakfast!!

[@babylon540]

thanks Robert, another interesting episode. I take your point about public chargers. I think I am lucky in living in Southend as all public chargers in the town are ree and it is free to park as well. so I do most of my charging at public stations. I do have a fast charger installed at home but prefer public chargers in Southend as they are free.

[@MartinPHellwig]

Solar roadways are just a tad impractical compared to the alternatives that are more efficient, cheaper to install and less expensive in maintenance. Having said that I do think that there is value in testing it out, even if it only serves as an example of how not to do it. However what really is going to kill solar roadways is now the association with your interpretive dance.

[@ashliehiggins]

showing thunderf00t and eevblog isn't the best as they aren't just mindless journalists, Dave is an electrical engineer, and thunderf00t is a physicist.

[@freibier]

Yes, and both their videos show without any doubt (by presenting plain and simple facts everybody can verify) that solar roads might technically work, but they make no economic sense until all other options for placing solar panels have been used up.

[@soundslave]

How will they feel to drive over? In the UK we already have shocking roads.

[@speckdratz]

Hey Rob! I really like your show and, of course, your presentation style. Or maybe that's just your accent that reminds me of Douglas Adams' HHGTTG 😁 However, I felt like this episode was a liiiittle too much. All that funny stuff overshadows the actual topic and the work you and your team put into researching all of that. By all means keep the humour. But maybe tone it down a notch or two and save some for later episodes? Anyhow, thanks for making the show. Happy new year, and a successful one at that! 🎉

[@greyareaRK1]

Ford has an electric? Great episode, and I got my interpretive dance fix for the year.

[@HoboInASuit4Tune]

Hey, I love you muchly, but Solar Freakin Roadways? Watch the videos that go into the physics and economics of the whole thing. It's not so much that it's not possible-- it's that other approaches are MANY times more efficient, and actually economically viable.

[@Hazzer2007]

Solar roadways don't work. While I love the idea and have solar myself, it is cheaper and more effective to fit every roof in the UK with solar panels before looking at roadways and foot paths.

[@Vik7736]

Jesus, I ve seen all that negativity over solar roadways and something similar runs through my head whenever I see them. In my imagination usually the person dancing around saying that it wont work are children but pretty close none the less.

[@namefinder]

There was a solar bicycle path in the Netherlands. It didn't survive the winter.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Did you have to wear such tight pants doing that dance! It was like watching David Bowie in Labyrinth!

[@Maxsdiscos]

How many renewable generation equipment do you see at public charge stations?

[@michaelpugh260]

Great information as ever, keep up the great work!

[@EVMYT]

Ok, so most people who know me know I am happy to say when something is total crap. That was probably your best and most accurate video of the current EV situation. Bravo. :)