Did you ever want to have an emergency “backup” system that supplies electric power constantly? There is now a truly portable (and ultra-high efficient) solar power generator that produce up to 1800 watts of household electricity on demand when you need it.
You have heard about the proverbial hairdryers, have you not? Those noisy types of mopeds sprawling the streets of suburbia?
Now the Cambridge University students have created a solar-powered racing car that travels at 60mph speed, using the same power as a hairdryer. The car is to be completed by summer 2009, in time for the World Solar Challenge, an annual gruelling race across the Australian outback, from Darwin to Adelaide. The Cantabrigian creation, the Bethany, is highly tipped to win the competition.
The Bethany’s power source is collected via silicon cells that cover the car’s top; under this top, the car will be an efficient electric device. The car itself looks sleek and shiny, and, thanks to such design, weighs mere 170kg, has a battery management control system in place, an energy generating braking system, and an energy-efficient hub motor. The team behind the car’s creation estimates that the car will take 50 times less power than a normal car running on petrol.
Cambridge University may be the second oldest in England, but it is likely to be the first when it comes to devising new ideas for cars. At least, they definitely hope to show how future green vehicles can be generated based on the Bethany model. To quote their spokesperson, “at a time when the automotive industry is being forced to look at a low-carbon future, our vehicle demonstrates the enormous potential of energy-efficient electric vehicle technologies”. About 75 students from across the Cambridge University have been working on the vehicle’s design and build. Their efforts were supported by a network of corporate sponsors, academics, and specialist advisors.
In the next months the racing team of four students will be testing the car across the Outback, working in four-hour shifts, to cope with the heat. During the race, though, the Bethany will be fitted with an advanced cruise control system. It will be automatically adjusting speed, depending on the changes to road conditions and weather. The only thing the drivers will be left to do will be to steer the car and stay alert.
Related topics include wind generator
Executive Summary about Solar Electric by Klaus H Hemsath
Promotion of solar power generation is booming. Why are solar farms built when financial data clearly show that solar power is still the most expensive electricity generation technology available?
Solar power plant developers and marketers obviously know that they need to lower costs. Cost reduction is, however, expensive and takes time. There are two major technologies for solar energy conversion. Electricity production with steam is a very mature technology. The other technology is the direct, photovoltaic conversion of sunlight into electricity. This technology will most likely become the dominant solar electric power generating technology – eventually. The concentrated sunshine creates very high surface temperatures on the solar panel. To save solar panel area and make the solar panel price competitive, one must cool the surface of the solar panel very efficiently to prevent it from melting and destruction.
Present production costs for generating electricity with solar panels are hovering around $0.50 per kWh. Right now, solar power does not yet make economical sense.
None of the available technologies using renewable energy can compete with the cost of electricity generation from coal.
The technologies for generating electricity with solar power, wind power, marine power, and geothermal power are very well understood. At present, a respectable number of windmill farms and solar panel farms are being installed. Solar power does not make economical sense, yet. A random sampling of recent announcements of solar farm installations reveals that system installation costs are in the $3000 to $7500 per kW installed capacity. These plant costs loosely translate into a cost of producing electric power at $0.30 to $0.60 per kWh. This very unfavorably compares to the cost of electricity generation by any other technology.
As long as solar power constitutes only a very small fraction of overall electric power generation, the additional costs of storing intermittently produced electric power are not yet of concern. If the US is going to depend significantly on the intermittent production of electricity from solar power and wind power, it must begin to develop storage technologies for huge amounts of electric energy. Intermittent, renewable energies and electric energy storage are inseparable.
The Solar Electric Panel – An Inexpensive Way to Generate Electricity
Executive Summary about Solar Electric by Dan A Swanson
The solar electric panels, generally called solar photovoltaic panels, are made of a set of treated silicon cells arranged in a series array. They produce electricity on being exposed to the sunlight. A small solar electric panel will lessen the energy bills considerably, while a big solar panel will in fact budge the meter backwards. The contemporary solar electric panels are simple to install and are modular. The solar electric panels transform the sunlight to DC (direct current) electricity. Buy any of these solar electric panels according to your requirements.
Solar electric panels are the perfect answer to our increasing electricity bills and ever increasing reliance on depleting conventional energy resources. Make a one time investment in solar panels and generate free electricity for years to come. Solar electric panels are the need of the hour.
