...What exactly is the problem they are trying to solve? ...
Reducing fossil fuel usage at lower LCOEs to reduce everyone's power bills. It would be nice if power was free for residences regardless of how much you used, and businesses paid for their power consumption for the upkeep of the system.
... It feels like we should be working harder to cut down on energy use...
Seems like we're always creating lower consumption devices (e.g., LED lighting, mini-splits), and yet power consumption seems to rise year after year.
...What if we just make cars and trucks more efficient?...
Any
Carnot cycle engine (e.g., Gasoline and diesel engines) has a maximum possible efficiency set solely by the temperature delta between the operating and ambient temperature (i.e., 1- T
c/T
h, where T is in an absolute measurement (i.e., Kelvin or Rankine)), currently, they see 17 to 21% efficiency. It's hard to make those engines operate at higher temperatures and stay reliable although people have been trying for years.
It's also why folks keep looking at fuelcell and EV cars. An electric motor for an EV is between 85 to 90% efficient.
...I don't know, it seems like a bit of a Rube Goldberg way of making electricity.
It does indeed, but as long as the maintenance costs are realistic and worked in the LCOE I'm okay with that.
The solar roads at least should be passive. There's far more surface area on the roads around my house than on top of my house. Plus there are a lot of advantages to local generation. I'm not sure that the economics work in places with a lot of snow, but it might be great here. The big unknown in my mind is their durability, traction, and the LCOE.
Update:
ref
The city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, now boasts the first section of solar roadway in the United States...produce more than 1,300 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually... energy will be used for a Level 2 electric car charging station at Peachtree Corners' city hall, which drivers will be able to use for free.
So, seems like the idea works technically. It would be interesting to see the $ numbers. Probably like most new things, they're awful. But in 30 or 40 years it might be the way things are done.