On the other side there is Colas a multi-billion euro company which has invested a lot of time & money into this technology. This tells me there is some crucial information which paints the big picture missing and it is therefore impossible to determine whether the idea of solar roadways the way Colas wants to implement them is worthwhile or not.
... is about the same logic as:
My grandfather worked for the water board in Ashton under lyne in the U.K. He used to carry divining rods to trace pipes.
...
I know my grandfather used to use them every day so I assume they must have worked.
Just because Colas is spending money on it does
not mean it is a viable idea. There are
many reasons for them to do it, even though it makes absolutely no sense from a technical and economic perspective.
Without actual numbers that is just an assumption / opinion. And that is precisely what I object to because good engineers don't do that. Very early on in my career I have learned to ask questions and understand the reasoning behind a solution before calling it stupid.
A good engineer should be able to do the
order of magnitude calculation to realize that ideas like this are not viable. uBeam, Batteriser, self filling water bottles and magic environmental condensers, solar panels in the roadways...