this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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Sweden is testing a semi-truck trailer covered in 100 square meters of solar panels::A Swedish manufacturer wants to harness green energy from a cargo trailer's free real estate.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Only about half of it would actually be producing power at any one time, at a sub-optimal angle.

But I'm sure someone did the math and it makes some kind of sense for whatever use case they're imagining. Would still probably be better to have static solar panels along highways and charging trucks with some kind of pantograph setup instead.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

That's basically the way interurban trains operated for years before the highway system and personal vehicles replaced that mode of transport. It wasn't solar powered back then, but the idea makes a lot of sense.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I know it's basically reinventing trains, but it would be a great inbetween solution to have trucks stay in a dedicated lane in a semi-automatic mode on long stretches, while they can service the last few kms without having to transfer the load.

[–] visak 3 points 10 months ago

If you call them PanoPods you can probably get venture capital funding and then just go buy a train and paint it with a cool design.

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