The 1st Solar Bike Path is (T)here…

Opening today in the town of Krommenie, the Netherlands, is a solar bike path–or, why not…a green road? This stretch is being called the first of its kind in the sphere of public works ownership. The path includes embedded solar cells and runs 230 lineal ft. Cost: $3.7M. Naah, I’m not going to calc the per-foot cost. I mean, what did that first bottle of powdered OJ taken aboard a space shot cost before it became “Tang”?

The builder of the concrete slabs that are pieced together on-site, SolaRoads, says: “It has to be translucent for sunlight and repel dirt as much as possible. At the same time, the top layer must be skid resistant and strong enough in order to realize a safe road surface.” Daunting!

One article on the news offers that because the solar bike path can’t be angled to take full advantage of the sun, about 30% less energy can be derived as compared to rooftop solar panels. But, the supposition is there are a lot more roadways than rooftops. So, we wait for wear ‘n tear results over a couple of years of a true bike commuter pathway.

Here’s NPR’s take on it. Or, ClimateProgress’.

And, here’s a likable video on the topic (especially the intro frames)-

Late Breaking News– A climate change deal was made with the Chinese! Amazing. China’s max allowable GHG level will peak in 2030.

From Mother Jones: “Perhaps most significantly, the plan says that for China to meet its clean energy production target, it will have to roll out an additional 800 to 1,000 gigawatts of low-carbon energy sources by 2030. That’s roughly equivalent to the size of the US’s current electric grid, but made up entirely of non-fossil energy. So the renewable energy market in China, already the world’s biggest, is poised to grow by a lot over the next decade or so. That’s not necessarily a new development, but now we know that the growth expectation is nailed down to some specific numbers—and that it will happen with the support of the US government and American companies.”

This is what energy innovation looks like…innovation that takes advantage of demand in growing markets. In other words, China’s climate goals represent a big economic opportunity for both countries.”

“China is the world’s biggest coal consumer; it gets more than 70 percent of its power from coal. Thanks to China’s skyrocketing growth, its coal addiction is expected to rise until 2030, when the International Energy Agency predicts China will, at its peak, consume more than half the world’s coal. [Choking now in some of its cities, like Shanghai >> asphyxiation by then?]

“To reconcile China’s need for more cheap energy with its climate goals, the plan calls for a major pilot project to study carbon capture and sequestration, a technology intended to capture carbon dioxide from coal plants and either bury it underground or repackage it for use as an industrial chemical.”

The US goal to reduce GMG emissions by 25-28% by 2025 from the 2005 base year is a daunting goal, I think. (Check out the NY Times article here to see an interesting “green arrangement” between the China-U.S. negotiating tables.) That said, I’ve been surprised by the number of major companies that have implemented plans to reduce operations-associated GMGs. They realize that GHGs will hurt profits. I’ve written about some of them, i.e., American Express. Here’s a book title on the subject-

In Sundry Department- Less Costly Gasoline

Was super disappointed to read of the return of “mighty” vehicles purchasing in the US due to cheaper gas. Just because one can afford a Navigator or a Hummer doesn’t mean the gross inefficiency doesn’t despoil the planet–it easily scales from one Tahoe. Kind of ironic. Big views of vistas from these trucks taking a beating from same. LOL