Q. How "green" is this SSC energy system? 

A. This system may well be the greenest of any practical renewable energy system, yet proposed.

             Specifically,

• It directly and indirectly reduces global warming:

• It produces no CO₂ in its operation and minimal CO₂ in its manufacture and transport.

• Its installation sites already exist, for multi-TeraWatt-Hour capacities! Today, the USA has over 20,000 square miles of asphalt. (Furthermore, these roads usually coincide with electric grid paths).

• It generates electricity and stores energy, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for peak demand filling coal or gas-powered generators).

• It generates electricity locally, where it is needed, thereby reducing distant transmission losses.

• It provides a new revenue source (electricity sales) for building and maintaining our critical roadways and city streets. This can replace the shortfall as future gasoline taxes dwindle.

• It is completely invisible! That is, there are no unsightly towers (as with wind systems) nor any rooftop "appendages" (as with photovoltaic systems).

• It extends the life span of roads, so that less new asphalt needed, less oil evaporates, less repair wastes). (By reducing the hot temperature peaks, fewer cracks form and life span increases.)

• It produces electricity with no moving parts, for high reliability, less repair/replacement wastes.

• It electricity storage technology can be used to advance the energy storage for electric vehicles and other renewable energy sources like photovoltaic, wind energy.

• It is especially symbiotic with electric vehicles, since it makes the grid green, from which cars can be recharged. There is even the possibility of recharging electric vehicles at traffic intersections (i.e. "red-light-inductive/contact-charging").