What The Heck Is It With This Obsession On Solar Roads?

Tokyo, one of my favorite cities in the world, is about to do something REALLY dumb: build a solar road.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

If you’ve followed my writings over time, you know how I feel about solar roads. I find them to be one of the greatest boondoggles of all time, a brilliant grift that does nothing to advance the future of solar power but does get a lot of publicity for the people building it.

The last time I visited the solar roads issue in 2017, the combiner box on the “test road” – more like a patch that a sidwalk, really – had caught on fire in Standpoint, Idaho, where this “demonstration” road has been in the works for what seems like forever (I guess if I really thought about it, I’d say I first saw the words “solar roadways” flash across my Facebook feed back in 2014). You’d think they would have been embarrassed. They were defiantly NOT embarrassed, any more than they were when a laminating machine foiled its big launch party in 2016.

Why am I bringing this up again, other than to point and laugh AGAIN at people who for some reason think solar roadways are a useful use of solar technology, all evidence to the screaming contrary?

Because according to the U.K. Independent newspaper, Tokyo – a city I once lovingly wandered looking for rodent traps (long story) – is trying to build a solar road in anticipation of its 2020 Olympics hosting.

The Inependent writes:

The new technologies are expected to be introduced on a trial basis at facilities owned by the Tokyo government and other locations as early as the next fiscal year.

My advice would be to keep them away from any flammable buildings, is all I’m saying.

The newspaper also reports that the solar roadways would be part of a widespread effort to brand Tokyo as an eco-friendly city, something I can attest it already is. I’d argue they don’t need to put together some flashy tourist-trappy, Disney-esque attraction to prove it. Just take what you’ve already done and do a better job of marketing it to the world.

Please. Seriously, you don’t want any part of this travesty wrapped in a tragicomedy wrapped in solar panels. Take it from a longtime solar roadways observer: They do not work.

More:

Tokyo to build eco-friendly ‘solar roads’ ahead of 2020 Olympics

Puerto Rico Advocates Form Solar + Storage Trade Group For Island

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

A group of solar + storage advocates has formed a new trade organization to fight for solar + storage solutions in Puerto Rico.

The Solar and Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico (SESA-PR) will promote the use of solar and energy storage to restore electricity to the entire island, something with which the U.S. protectorate has struggled since Hurricane Maria devastated the area last September.

“At this crucial moment for Puerto Rico, we are calling on the people to join this effort that aims to guide and educate around the use of solar energy to reduce dependence on the traditional electrical system,” said Patrick James Wilson, President of SESA-PR. “We have assembled a group of experts who will participate in a broad discussion on the future of energy on the island and share their perspectives from various sectors such as government, finance and economic development.”

One of the group’s executives grew up in Puerto Rico and said in a release announcing the group’s formation that the electric grid on the island has been broken since long before Maria ever visited the island.

“I was born and raised in Puerto Rico,” said Alejandro Uriarte, Director of SESA-PR and Managing Partner at New Energy Consultants. “Our electric grid was broken when I was growing up and is obviously in even worse condition today. Rebuilding after the hurricanes provides our island with a unique opportunity to upgrade our grid using better, more reliable technology like solar and battery storage that can make Puerto Rico an energy leader in the United States and across the world.”

Together, SESA-PR and partners will be hosting the inaugural SESA Puerto Rico Energy Summit on June 25 and 26. The conference will focus on the future of energy for the island and provide the perspectives from the intersecting worlds of solar, energy storage, government, finance, and economic development.

RSVP for the June 25 and 26 conference being held at the Intercontinental San Juan, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, HERE.

SESA-PR hopes to serve as the voice of the renewable and distributed energy industry in rebuilding conversations in Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and nationally.

Instant Solar Permitting, The Most Important Issue Facing Solar? (Podcast)

By Yann Brandt, Managing Editor

This may be the most important topic to be organized in solar since the start of net metering. The permitting process in the US adds almost $1/watt to the cost of the installations and increases the cancellation rate for customers looking to go solar.

In this episode of SolarWakeup Live! I speak with Andrew Birch who was a co-founder of Sungevity. Andrew tackles this issue by spearheading a two-day meeting which happened last week along with his co-chairs Billy Parish of Mosaic and Lynn Jurich of Sunrun. SEIA and The Solar Foundation will be intimately involved in the process.

The idea is to get solar to be a retroactive permit, registered with the AHJ after having been installed. Sell on one day and install the next. If you agree that this ultimate goal is ideal for your business, listen to this conversation and get involved.

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OhmHome Introduces New Solar Mapping Project To Facilitate Solar Adoption

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

OhmHome, a website devoted to educating consumers about the Solar Revolution and other energy issues, has decided it wants to one-up Google’s Project Sunroof with its new solar mapping service called NextDoor Solar.

In addition to showing consumers what other homes in the neighborhood have solar, it will also tell them which companies have done the installations – a feature OhmHome says is important because of its long-term financial implications.

In its release, the company cites NREL research that shows local installers can offer consumers 10% more savings than large national companies. It also cites Yale research that purchasing solar is contagious, meaning the more people in a neighborhood purchase solar, the more likely it is that others will also purchase solar. As a result, OhmHome believes its mapping program can provide the final nudge for a lot of potential solar owners currently sitting on the fence.

“The problem for consumers is that it’s often hard to research local companies and know anything about their quality,” Ohmhome said in a release. “We want to make doing that research easier.”

The website based its product launch on its database of more than 500,000 residential solar projects in the United States.

According to the annual Gallup Environment poll findings, 73% of Americans want the United States to wean itself of traditional fossil fuels and pour more research into alternative energy sources like solar and wind. And more than 50% prefer to protect the environment over more fossil fuel exploration.