POWER FROM THE SUN
This article describes several projects supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation employing solar power. At DOT'S Transportation Test Center in Pueblo, Colorado, a 2,800 square foot office building has been fitted with 600 square feet of solar collectors for heating water and heating and cooling the building. On the George Washington Parkway, near Washington, D.C., solar cells on a bridge provide electricity to produce a counterchange through the pavement and the steel reinforcements to halt the corrosion process and prevent new potholes from forming. In Oklahoma, storage tanks for water-based asphalt emulsions are heated by solar energy rather than propane gas. Given the high cost of propane, the system will pay for itself in two years. In Arizona, a sign on Interstate 10 powered by photovoltaic cells will light up during a dust storm alert and direct drivers to specific frequencies on their car radios for information. The Coast Guard is experimenting with solar powered buoys and beacons in ship channels. Southern Railway is using photovoltaic cells to power its signals at grade crossings.
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Corporate Authors:
Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Authors:
- Trullinger, M
- Publication Date: 1979
Media Info
- Features: Photos;
- Pagination: p. 12-15
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Serial:
- Transportation USA
- Volume: 5
- Issue Number: 4
- Publisher: Department of Transportation
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Beacons; Corrosion protection; Development; Heating equipment; Highway bridges; Office buildings; Railroad grade crossings; Research; Solar energy; Solar power generation; Traffic signals; Transportation departments
- Identifier Terms: U.S. Department of Transportation
- Uncontrolled Terms: Research and development
- Old TRIS Terms: Beacon lights
- Subject Areas: Highways; Railroads; Research;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00311320
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: Oct 27 1980 12:00AM