#New interstate font georgia install#

Rolling out photovoltaic and interactive technologies

вЂњBut because they have the money and work so well collaboratively, they are able to make that stretch of highway a living laboratory for their projects.вЂќ The RayвЂ™s other projects include a solar-powered electric vehicle charger sponsored by automaker Kia. вЂњThe RayвЂ™s board tries things the state would never fund with taxpayer money - at this time,вЂќ said Tim Echols, an elected official on GeorgiaвЂ™s Public Service Commission. вЂњWorking with The Ray allows us to take a bit more risk.вЂќ вЂњDOTs can have a cautious approach,вЂќ he said. Georgia Department of Transportation Director of Operations John Hibbard acknowledged that вЂњit will take years before solar roads move to GeorgiaвЂ™s highways.вЂќ But he pointed out that The Ray is still at an early stage of testing, and praised the foundation for helping nudge the Georgia DOT to experiment. вЂњWe would like to continue working with Auburn for future tests including testing rubber-modified asphalt, the Wattway, and future road technology like wireless charging from the pavement,вЂќ Kelly said. The university program compresses 10 years of pavement testing into just three, in part by running 18-wheeler semi-trucks on the surface. Kelly said the foundation is also working with Auburn University, which runs the National Center for Asphalt Technology Test Track, a unique accelerated pavement testing facility for the Federal Highway Administration. In addition, a skid-resistant surface made from a slurry of recycled glass is now being installed inside of a controlled manufacturing environment, eliminating the risk of moisture within the panels.

#New interstate font georgia install#

вЂњColas is developing their third version of the panels now,вЂќ Kelly said, вЂњand weвЂ™ll install it this year, replacing our current panels.вЂќ The first version in France, she said, had a gap at the joints, and when vehicles passed over them at high speed, a loud, helicopter-like sound resulted. The Ray Foundation points out they are doing just that. вЂThough smart technology has infiltrated our lives, our roads have not kept pace.вЂ™Д«efore the Wattway panels can be used on roadways here, they will have to be extensively tested. вЂњOur microwaves do more than our highways.вЂќ She said that roads could potentially charge electric cars, power homes and offices, light driversвЂ™ way at night, and keep people safe in multiple ways by texting them based on cloud-sourced information. вЂњThough smart technology has infiltrated our lives, our roads have not kept pace,вЂќ she said. They incubate projects in order to test their viability, said Allie Kelly, executive director of The Ray. Even with upgrades and modifications, Ryan said, вЂњitвЂ™s likely the performance gap between solar roads and conventional solar will remain.вЂќД«ut The RayвЂ™s board shrugs off such criticisms. вЂњSolar roads are likely to only be a niche source of power in the future,вЂќ said Dylan Ryan, a lecturer in mechanical and energy engineering at Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland. A solar roadway in China may be faring better - though some panels were stolen after it was laid down, and China wonвЂ™t say what it cost.Д®xperts say solar rooftops and parking canopies are cheaper and more efficient. A different experiment in Idaho, called Solar Roadways, generated far less power than expected and was not field tested for traffic. The first installation in France produced only half the power expected.

The RayвЂ™s solar road, currently a short section at the projectвЂ™s visitor center, was developed by a French transportation company, Colas, working in conjunction with the French National Solar Energy Institute. Solar roads - a glass roadway surface that generates electricity - have seen disappointing results in tests elsewhere, but neither the foundation nor state officials are ready to give up on the technology. Anderson Foundation has received nationwide praise for вЂњThe Ray,вЂќ an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 85 in Georgia that showcases a variety of technologies aimed at cutting emissions and other impacts from transportation - including right-of-way solar, electric vehicle charging and strategies to reduce pollution. While solar roads have been criticized as impractical and inefficient, a Georgia foundation says they will continue to be part of its research lab for greener highways. An ambitious incubator in Georgia intends to spur a zero-carbon transportation future, despite criticism that its ideas are expensive or impractical.