Route 66 Going Solar In Missouri - VIDEO

A section of Route 66 in Missouri will soon be covered in solar panels from Idaho startup, Solar Roadways. “It gets Missouri and MDOT prepared for 21st century innovations,” says Tom Blair, who heads the Road to Tomorrow initiative. “We expect them to be in place, I’m hoping, by the end of this year, maybe before snow flies.”

Combining road improvement with solar energy generation could be not only a boon for the Missouri but a model for other states as well. Blair says, “If [Solar Roadway’s] version of the future is realistic, if we can make that happen, then roadways can begin paying for themselves.”

Solar Roadways describes their tempered-glass roads as “a modular system of specially engineered solar panels that can be walked and driven upon. Our panels contain LED lights to create lines and signage without paint [and] contain heating elements to prevent snow and ice accumulation.”

The panels also contain microprocessors that make it possible for the panels communicate with each other and with a central control center. They can also communicate with the vehicles driving on them. Because the panels are modular, roads could easily be repaired without major disruptions of traffic.

Solar Roadways says it has already completed two contracts in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation. “Our goal is to modernize the infrastructure with modular, intelligent panels, while producing clean renewable energy for homes and businesses,” the company says on its website. “We’ll be able to charge electric vehicles with clean energy from the sun, first on our solar parking lots and when we have enough highway infrastructure, while driving.”

Solar Roadways is not the only company working on roads that are also solar panels. France is planning to pave 600 miles of roads with solar panels manufactured by Colas, which bills itself as the “World leader in the construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure.”

The Colas panels took 5 years to develop and consist of 7 millimeter thick strips glued to the road surface. The strips use a thin film of polycrystalline silicon to make electricity from sunlight. Colas says they have been tested extensively and can withstand the weight of a 6 axle truck. They are also said to be skid resistant.

Solar roads seem like a great idea. But real world engineering problems may get in the way. In winter, water can collect between the panels and freeze, damaging the connections between them. Traffic may scuff they so badly their ability to make electricity is greatly reduced. Frost heaves and other natural phenomena may cause them to break.

It’s an interesting idea, and one that deserves to be explored. Eliminating the need to plow roads in winter could certainly save cities and states huge amounts of money, more than offsetting the cost of  solar roads. Is this an idea whose time has come? “We’ll see,” said the Zen master.

Source: The Free Thought Project  Photo credit: Solar Roadways

1,000 EV Charging Stations Coming To Kansas City

When it comes to BBQ and steak, Kansas City, Missouri is a destination for many Americans. But when it comes to electric cars, Kansas City hardly seems like a blip on the radar, though that’ll soon change thanks to Kansas City Power and Light, which in a partnership with Nissan and Chargepoint is installing some 1,000 free EV chargers in the greater metro area.

According to Green Car Reports, the Clean Charge Network as its being called will feature mostly 240 volt Level 2 chargers, though Nissan will also include 15 DC fast chargers as part of the plan. The “combination” chargers will support both CHAdeMO chargers preferred by Nissan, as well as the CSS chargers used by American and European automakers. Nissan will operate the 15 DC fast chargers, while Chargepoint will handle the rest of the Level 2 charging stations. Though the stations will be free to use, drivers will still have to sign up for a Chargepoint membership.

This announcement follows closely on the heels of a joint Volkswagen-BMW-Chargepoint deal that will see charging corridors installed along America’s east and west coasts. With this new deal though, Kansas will go from having just a handful of EV charger to more than any other state, save for California. It will give America’s heartland a huge boost for electric vehicle adoption, a place that needs it considering the relatively low adopt rate of plug-in cars in typically conservative states.

It’s not all good news for environmentalists in Missouri though, as the local car dealer’s association has filed suit against the state to halt Tesla sales. Environmental groups have also filed suit against a couple of utility companies (though not Kansas City Power and Light) for failing to meet renewable energy expectations. Yet there is also a town in the very same state that is 100% wind powered, demonstrating the sustainable dichotomy of this state.

At least for EV owners in the Kansas City area, there will be a lot more places to plug in once a majority of the stations are installed this summer. It’s a truly massive step that will propel this traditionally conservative state at the forefront of the EV movement.

If you build it, they will plug in.

Car Dealers Sue Missouri To Stop Tesla Sales

Last year Missouri car dealers attempted to halt sales of the Tesla Model S with a last-minute change to legislation.T hat rider was eventually dropped from the bill, allowing Tesla to continue with its direct sales strategy, but the Missouri Auto Dealers Association, or MADA hasn’t given up.

A lawsuit filed by MADA against the state of Missouri seeks to halt Tesla sales, saying the direct sales model creates a “non-level playing field”, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lawsuit aside though, that doesn’t change the fact that the language of the law prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles in competition with existing franchise dealerships. But since Tesla has no established franchises dealerships, Missouri’s then-acting Department of Revenue chief explained that Tesla was operating within the law as it was written. That’s why MADA tried to get the law changed.

But when that didn’t pan out as hoped, it was only left with the litigation option, though the outcome isn’t likely to change. Despite being on the absolute opposite end of the political spectrum from Massachusetts, Missouri is likely to come to the same conclusion as the Commonwealth; Tesla isn’t breaking any laws, as the law is written.

Car dealers across the country have been scrambling to contain Tesla’s direct sales model, meeting with success in some die-hard conservative states (and getting them nominated for a Luddite Awardin the process). There’s even been a national campaign to explain how car dealers manipulating sales process is somehow good for car buyers, even though just about everybody has a horror story about buying a car, new or otherwise. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so transparently loaded with lies about how manufacturers would attempt to screw customers if direct sales were the status quo. Yet when you ask buyers of the Tesla Model S how the purchasing experience was, they’ll gush about it for as long as you’ll listen.

This lawsuit against Tesla is the last desperate attempt by Missouri car dealers to prevent consumers from realizing, yes, there is a better way to sell cars. That way is the Tesla way.