Why aren’t electric vehicles using solar panels integrated into the panoramic rooftops? Wouldn’t this eliminate the need for charging stations – to be able to collect a solar charge at most hours of the day and *during* the actual act of driving?
In: 1963
I was on the R&D team for an electrical vehicle company. My task was to research and report on all the current, up & coming and future technologies for electric and alternative power vehicles. Long story short, there is really no such thing a ‘free power’. Most things ‘consume’ more power than the generate (the weight of the panels are heavy, causing more drag therefore not efficient). Regenerative breaking, so far, is the best way to create instant power, but not long term…the battery is the weak link.
Not too many people realize the enormous negative impact mining for the minerals in the batteries have on the environment. Entire eco systems (forests, mountains, animals..) are destroyed digging out the ‘rare earth minerals’. Then the chemical waste to refine the minerals dumped back into the environment is very very bad (polluting water and land). Most of these rare earth minerals are mined from 3rd world countries and China which have little regards for the environment. “Clean Energy” is really not as clean as people think.
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