Solar Roadways:  Sorry To Be a “Hater,” But There Is No Such Thing as a “Good, but Impractical” Idea

As I’ve reported before, I find the appeal of crowdfunding is something of an enigma; in fact, it’s totally lost on me.  According to an expert on the subject I happen to know, “Over 80% of what we see on sites like IndieGogo is vaporware; normally, investors are sending money to someone they don’t know, to enable that someone to build and sell something that doesn’t as yet exist, and, in most cases, never will.”

Even more mysterious is the fact that the Solar Roadways concept (the repaving of our 3.9 miles of roadways with a specially ruggedized form of PV, the price-tag for which, according to my rough estimate is $60 trillion, almost four times the U.S. national debt) has gained excellent support.  As of this date, over 46,000 people have chipped in more than $2 million.

Perhaps the answer lies in the discussion following the post linked above, in particular the comment to the effect that, “I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but rather, that it’s impractical.” And maybe that’s why I’m having so much trouble understanding all this.  In my mind, impractical ideas are bad ideas.  Good ideas in renewable energy have realistic potential to be implemented, technologically and economically, and to be effective in lowering our environmental footprint.  I would define anything else in this space as simply a bad idea.