Imagine if there was a way to replace sidewalks, streets, and driveways with solar panels? The energy output would be incredible. If the panels were covered with a thick clear plastic that allowed light to get through but protected the panels from rain and damage. They would be strong enough to be driven over by cars of all sorts. If there were also solar panels on all the houses a city would be amazingly sustainable.

That would be great! We can use less electricity and more solar power to do a lot of things. This can lead to a change in our lifestyle and by using less electricity, the carbon footprint for houses will also go down because we can use solar power instead.

This is a really cool idea! I wonder if it would be possible for a project like this to be funded by the government, since the solar panels could be put on public streets, sidewalks, etc. It seems that a significant problem with solar energy currently is that it is very costly to set up just a few panels, so it is not able to become a widespread source of energy. By having a potentially government funded solar energy grid system, where panels are put across large public spaces and the collected energy is distributed throughout towns, solar energy could become a more significant source of our energy supply.

That would be awesome! The sun produces enough energy to power the entire world every second, and that would help catch more energy.
However, it costs something to the earth to make those, so be sure to make them energy efficient!
Also, there is a street in hong kong that is mostly solar tiles. I mean, its kinda useless, because its completely covered in pollution clouds 88% of the time, but its a step in the right direction!

I agree, that sounds like a great idea, it is very futuristic. It also is very sustainable. People would not have to use tons of energy that is not reusable. On the other hand it would be a little expensive to pay for the tiles and to pay people to install and maintain them.

Solar panels for the ground! What a great idea! The biggest boundary for that would have to be cost/ availability. Although solar panels save lots of money in the long run (check out this Boston Globe article- https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/r … story.html ), we still have lots of work to do as far as making them affordable and quick to create.

I believe that there are a number of issues with this. First off, if they were to be put in place of sidewalks, then many of the trees that are near them would result in very little sunlight hitting the panels. Secondly the materials to create such a material that would cover the panels would not only be extremely expensive, but some of the chemicals would have to come from the oil industry, which would undermine the entire point of such a project. Unfortunately, this idea seems to be a ways off into the future, if it is even possible in the first place.

That would be very cool and help our economy save money and it is very sustainable. Although  it could be very expensive to put in and maintain. The change of solar panels as our roads and streets could affect plant growth in ways that you may not expect. Many trees and plants grow near or next to side walks and streets and it could change there growth. The solar panels also could get very hot especially if we will be walking on them. It is a very cool idea, but i'm not sure how realistic it is.

I think scientists need to chop chop chop on this idea. This needs to exist yesterday! I totally agree that we could have so much power and we would basically never run out since we would be getting sunlight from all over. I think everyone could save money on this, we would just need to make sure the cost of the panels isn't too high. Since solar panels are pretty expensive right now, having millions of them would be pretty costly, but I bet someone could figure the money problem out. I think this is a step in the right direction.

If I remember correctly, I recall seeing a CNN article covering a similar topic. Scientists are currently working on the development of sidewalks and streets that are not only solar panels, but also nearly invulnerable to earthquakes. Some early prototypes are already being put into play with a solar bike path being opened up in Norway. I believe that this (in the famous words of Neil Armstrong) is one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind. This can create a completely sustainable energy source for all people.

Yes solar panels are the best solution for energy I can think of. This is because if we don't have solar panels transfering the sunlight into electricity it is going to waste. I think that the government should support solar panels more.

This is a very cool concept. I can see some issues with this though. For example, creating solar panels in the first place is extremely expensive, plus there is some waste created during hte building process of panels. Also, imagine the coal and mining industry's reaction to this. This is a country where big corporations oftentime have a ton of power, and as long as politicians continue to accept huge donations from these companies who would be put out of business by the implementation of solar panel sidewalks, driveways, etc, it is unlikely any real change could happen. I do agree this is a great idea tho.