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21 sats \ 3 replies \ @MarsIronPI 24 Jul \ on: Can Solar Rooftops Power the World? econ
Me sitting here waiting for the nanotechnology to create roads that are also solar panels
Seriously people, Eric Drexler proposed this idea in 1991. Why are we not focusing our efforts in those directions?
Probably because roads are nationalized and there's no profit motive. I'm pretty sure that's also why we tolerate so many driving related deaths.
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AFAICT there’d be a huge profit margin. Imagine how much the electricity generated by all those solar panels would be worth. It’d probably be enough to pay for road maintenance all by itself.
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I didn't say there's no profit margin, I said there's no profit incentive.
Government employees and representatives don't get paid more for doing innovative things, but they might get fired for doing something innovative that turns into a boondoggle. If we see more road privatization and relaxation of regulations, then entrepreneurs might show up and try things like this.
I doubt it would pay for road maintenance, at least not how they currently do it, which is unfathomably expensive. You also have to expect a high-tech solar road would cost even more to maintain.
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