what about the interstate highway authorities?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLx5loinx4U
The Europeans have had double-catenary road systems for many years now (the ones I've seen use two parallel pantographs on the cab, a bit like that pioneering Italian polyphase AC system near the turn of the last century). The issue with using them on American roads starts with the massive capital expense (which could only with great difficulty be used for BEV automobiles due to the needed clearance height) which is complicated by the need to span multiple lanes. There needs to be a high implementation rate of some sort of hybrid or battery tractor deployment for even the likely initial implementation (catenary from side poles over dedicated truck lanes on steeper grades) I seriously doubt there would ever be the will to electrify even a few major Interstate routes outside of air-quality management districts, even if it permitted Nite-Coach levels of enormous OTR bus service in a car-limited future.
The one thing it would solve is the need for multiple ground-based charge points capable of high sustained amperage. You just need wire spans above parking bays, with appropriate 'smart metering' accessed through inside personnel or apps.
OvermodThe Europeans have had double-catenary road systems for many years now (the ones I've seen use two parallel pantographs on the cab, a bit like that pioneering Italian polyphase AC system near the turn of the last century). The issue with using them on American roads starts with the massive capital expense (which could only with great difficulty be used for BEV automobiles due to the needed clearance height) which is complicated by the need to span multiple lanes. There needs to be a high implementation rate of some sort of hybrid or battery tractor deployment for even the likely initial implementation (catenary from side poles over dedicated truck lanes on steeper grades) I seriously doubt there would ever be the will to electrify even a few major Interstate routes outside of air-quality management districts, even if it permitted Nite-Coach levels of enormous OTR bus service in a car-limited future. The one thing it would solve is the need for multiple ground-based charge points capable of high sustained amperage. You just need wire spans above parking bays, with appropriate 'smart metering' accessed through inside personnel or apps.
Who manages the power levels maintained in the overhead wires? The little I know about electric power is that, at least on railroads, that power is managed based upon demand - in the railroads, that demand will be a realitvely known value based upon the number of locomotives and trains that will be traversing the territory.
What I am taking from the videos is that truckers can enter and leave the electrified lane(s) as they see fit, to overtake slower electrified traffic or to return to electrified operation and/or recharge the vehicles batteries. How is this fluctuaing power demand managed?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
When I first started to see this stuff running, I got the impression it was still at the feasible-technology stage and hadn't advanced to the 'how you make money with it' part.
Which is fine because the supporting technologies have evolved radically since then. The "worst-case" scenario (as in Germany with their pathetic Energiewende) is that the truck moves are tracked continuously via GPS, and the number of vehicles running in the electrified section are scheduled as well as monitored for traffic, grade, etc. Communication both with the truck and the driver can be used to control instantaneous aggregate demand, and (if done the way I'd do it) permit additional acceleration or regeneration for vehicles that support demand pricing.
Charging would be a negotiated round-robin arrangement, probably with some form of electricity demand pricing, on top of the aggregate demand for direct traction.
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