What Happened To Solar Freakin Roadways?

8 plus years ago, Solar Freaking Roadways went viral with the promise of revolutionizing green energy. The idea was to put solar panels on the thousands of miles of roads in the united states but despite exceeding their IndieGoGo goal and positive news coverage. There are not widespread solar roadways today. So what happened? In this video, we analyze why solar roadways failed and talk about some of the alternatives people have chosen to purchase instead.

[EchelonFanAccount]

First time watching your channel. Great breakdown.

[DemunJonesMusic]

Great video. Great topic. Great detail.

[NWAWskeptic]

YouTube channel Thunderf00t tore this company and concept apart a few years ago. Which sounds mean until you factor in the petulant hubris of the Solar Roadway company acting like they are being unfairly ignored and targeted.

[CStuartHardwick]

No, it never sounded "great." I was clearly idiotic or a scam from day one. There are SOOOO many engineering reasons that can never work. Everything else aside, there are straightforward, unavoidable reasons we do not build roads out of tiles.

[baileybuttars]

This unlocked memories that I forgot I had haha. I thought it was such a cool idea when it was first presented but it's much more practical to have them on homes or in farms.

[MarvinPowell]

I LOVE solar fuckin' roadways! They're supposed to be the future and solve everything! 🤣
And I already knew a solar panel's lifespan is only two years.
The most basic question, one would have to ask about these is, "Why would roads, covered by cars and dirt, be better than just putting them on roofs, which are covered by nothing?"

[EEVblog]

Just found this, nice work! I've done a dozen videos debunking Solar Roadways. Dumbest idea ever, it's actually a meme now in the engineering industry.

[Drewderpderpderp]

I remember first seeing this and thinking "Did we run out of space to put solar panels in places where they actually work?"

[yoonigan]

I always wondered what ever happened to the solar freaking roadways idea and now I know, thanks.

[Kazakye]

When I was a kid, I was super eco conscious, I wanted to make real changes, I was terrified about the polar bears dying etc. Solar roadways made me feel like I was going to be contributing to something that was going to change the world. It seemed so promising, I fell for it hook line and sinker in my naivety. I didn't have much money at that age, but I donated everything I could. As an adult, not only do I feel entirely stupid, but I want my money back.

[secretsofparis]

The "Whoa!" at 1:35 on the original video has forever been burned into my memory, LOL

[slackerman]

"Sounds great right?" uh, no. Sounds clueless. "Stupid freakin' clueballs" more like it.

[CharlieNoodles]

I remember the buzz around this 10 years ago. I watched the ads for it on Discovery Channel and even back then I thought “wow, what a tremendously stupid idea!” What did it for me was their suggestion of using the tiles for car parks. Freakin’ car parks. You don’t need to be a city planner to know that parking lots are covered by, you know, cars during the day, and you certainly don’t need a degree in electrical engineering to know that putting a solar panel underneath a car is dumb. The hype over this thing was so obnoxious given how ridiculous the whole thing was. Hey here’s a wild idea, instead of spending potentially trillions of dollars by putting solar panels in the worst possible location how about we do literally anything else.

[lelenbates]

Solar Roadways inc raised $6.5 million by 2022 and as far as I know they only did the 150 ft solar freakin sidewalk in Sand Point. Good money of you can get it.

[ClappedM]

Idea. Put solar panels on everyone’s roof..

[CarFreeSegnitz]

Gone and nearly forgotten. Which is actually weird when compared to solar farms which have now gotten cheaper than coal. I feared that the solar roadway grift would take down the more levelheaded solar farm. Thankfully math and physics won out even against the big oil juggernaut.

[typingcat]

Even 25 years seems short. Where will all the toxic, bulky solar panels go after just 25 years?

[thelimey]

Anybody who thought this would work should not be in a position of responsibility, absolutely ridiculous…🤦🏻‍♂️

[Caabooose]

Depending where you are the price is certainly offset by snow/ice removal costs which is millions each year.

[Prime]

Many innovations come and go that are meant to change the future. Some of them sound good on paper, but never take off because of practical or economic issues, and some are fundamentally flawed.