FAMILY-SIZED SOLAR CAR TO RACE IN WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGE

Solar Team Great Britain has started a kickstarter page to help fund their design for entry in the 2017 World Solar Challenge. Founder Steven Heape leads a team of volunteers from many different disciplines, companies and universities working on a family-sized solar car to compete in the cruiser class. “Cruiser Class is about two or more seats. It’s about a practical car,” says Heape.

The car will carry passengers and is designed to be road legal in the UK. The race itself covers 3,022km from Darwin to Adelaide. In the cruiser class, the winner must balance speed , practicality and energy efficiency. A typical family car would consume approximately 5,000 kWh on the route. In the 2013 race a four-seater solar car completed the route with an energy consumption of only 64 kWh.

The 2017 challenge takes place from October 8-15. The team has already been to Australia and driven the route to gather data. They plan to begin road testing the vehicle in April. If successful the car will be shipped to Australia in July.

The purpose of the project is to raise awareness of the need for clean transportation alternatives and to inspire students and young professionals to work towards sustainable projects. The kickstarter page has a goal of £20,000 by February 22nd. This will cover 5% of the funds needed. The remaining funds will be provided by over a dozen sponsors.

What do you think? Leave your comments below…

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TULIP SHAPED SOLAR PLANTS TO BE INSTALLED IN ETHIOPIA

AORA Solar has announced that it will begin construction of its solar-biogas power plants in Ethiopia. Construction of the first pilot plant will start by mid-2015. Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy has stated that ” AORA’s unique solar-hybrid technology is impressive and well-suited to provide both energy and heat to support local economic development in off-grid rural locations in Ethiopia.” AORA currently already has active sites in Samar, Israel and Almeria, Spain. Scroll down for photos and video.

What is AORA’s Tulip Hybrid System? A lens in the tulip-shaped tower receives concentrated solar rays that are reflected off of 50 mirrors. Behind the lens, the 1000 Celsius temperature is used to heat the pressurized air, resulting in a hot pressurized gas. This gas is then used to turn the blades of a turbine to generate electricity. The mirrors are synchronized to constantly follow the sun’s rays, directing the light toward the tower’s lens at all times.

During cloudy weather or nightfall, the tower’s turbine automatically switch to using biofuels or traditional fuels to heat the air inside and power the turbine. This allows the tower to continue producing energy 24/7. Unlike conventional solar thermal systems that use steam to drive large turbines, the Tulip requires only 8% of the amount of water, making it perfect for desert regions.

Photos:

Watch the video:

More videos on AORA’s YouTube Channel

Visit the AORA Website.

What do you think of the Tulip System? Leave your comments below…

• Pieter Siegers
  Nice try, but first there’s no clean green power with “traditional fuels” (not even with bio-fuels for that matter as this requires land and production facilities), and second there’s the maintenance factor as it’s not a static system (requiring another different infrastructure), and third there’s a need for a storage of the combustion fuels when there’s no sun.
  IMO this project tries to channel fossil fuels and make them look green so I don’t like it.
  Most probably a project coming from the fossil fuel industry or affiliated companies.
• Askgerbil Now
  Aora’s Tulip concentrated solar thermal system with the flexibility to use additional fuels is a good design for supplying 24/7 reliable energy. Its use of alternate fuels overnight and on cloudy days avoids the cost of thermal energy storage and battery storage. It also avoids the need for fossil fuel backup power stations.
  The fossil fuel lobby’s claims that renewable energy is unreliable and needs costly backup from fossil fuel power stations are now nonsense. Aora’s Tulip System can use multiple fuels and solar energy to generate elecricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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JAPAN CLOSER TO HARVESTING SOLAR ENERGY FROM SPACE

Since 2008, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has been working hard to develop technologies to transmit electricity wirelessly. The goal of the Space Solar Power Systems (SSPS), is to be able to transmit energy from orbiting solar panels by 2030. On March 12th, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) successfully conducted a ground demonstration test of “wireless power transmission”, a technology that will serve as the basis for the SSPS.

In the test, 10 kilowatts of electricity was successfully transmitted via a microwave unit. Power reception was confirmed at a receiver located 500 meters away. LED lights on the receiver confirmed the transmission. This marks a new milestone in transmission distance and power load (enough to power a set of conventional kitchen appliances). The test also confirmed the success of the advanced control system technology that is used to direct the microwave beam so that it stays on target.

The new test results promise to lead to way to terrestrial applications like the SSPS, and will hopefully eliminate the need for traditional cable connections. Potentially, a solar battery in orbit (36,000 kilometers above earth) could generate power which would then be transmitted to earth via microwave/laser, without relying on cables. JAXA anticipates that this new technology could become a mainstay energy source that will simultaneously solve both environmental and energy issues here on Earth.

Concept Photos:

Watch the video:

Read the MHI Press Release
Photo Credits: Japan Space Agency, NASA

Could this be the start of a new space race? Leave your comments below…

• Linda Roe
  This is the most scarey news yet. We will be fried alive!!
• Andy Hadley
  On the day of an eclipse… this is scary, but also seems pointless. Until we have collected more of the significant energy already falling on the planet, why would it make sense to litter the skies with orbiting panels, that might sometimes shade, or sometimes burn ? And what is the efficiency of the wireless transmission compared to a wired connection ? It suggests that 10KW of power was transmitted, at what loss ?
  • Jorge Fernandez
    I thought the same thing, however I imagine not efficient. 10KW over 500m is not far in comparison to the distance from the surface of Earth to inner Earth orbit. What trouble me most about this are the implications of having microwaves through the atmosphere. What is a plane goes through. The people might get cooked
  • Joseph Herbert
    The only advantage I see — which didn’t occur to me until I saw the

    picture — is that a platform closer to the sun will absorb a more
    intense collection of energy… because the rays spread out / decrease
    in intensity (picture a circle, with radial angles traveling out from
    the center — it’s more diffuse the farther out they go).

    …. So the solar rays are more concentrated closer to the sun.

    That’s the only advantage I see.

    ….
    And, yes, all the other points are valid. It’s not clear to me what the
    cost-benefit is here, nor why it’s being considered in the first place
    (unless they think the cost-benefit is really that substantial).

    And
    then, of course, there are potential safety-hazard scares, as others
    have mentioned below. (Maybe this wouldn’t be so much of an issue for
    humans, if it were a geosynchronous satellite. Still plenty of other
    unaddressed safety/environmental concerns though.)
• Pieter Siegers
  As we are already warming the planet, why not add some energy from space directly? And add to the climate change problem, not with fossil fuels but with clean energy? Hm, looks like we human beings will never understand… big sigh here.
  It’s really simple. Say those 10KW is converted into heat to produce some products. How on Earth are we going to return that 10KW back to space?
  I think this project is potentially dangerous stuff for our planet (apart from taking into account any losses during transmission).
• PlayStation4Life!
  it’s a cool concept but only in fiction. Realistically, this is just dumb af.

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MEET THE ELF: A PEDAL-POWERED, SOLAR-ELECTRIC HYBRID

Described as the “most efficient vehicle on the planet”, The ELF is a solar and pedal-powered hybrid tricycle hand-built in the United States by Organic Transit. It is available in one, two and three seater models, and according to their website it gets the equivalent of 1800 miles per gallon! It is legally considered a bicycle, so it can be used on bike paths, parks and sidewalks and requires no gas, license, registration or insurance.

The solar-charged electric motor does not power the vehicle, but rather “assists” your pedalling with a boost of power whenever you need it. The ELF can travel at speeds over 25 mph, and the motor is geared low enough to handle climbing hills with ease. The battery has a range of 16 miles with no pedalling, and 30 miles with pedalling. It takes about 2-3 hours to charge using a normal standard wall outlet. Obviously solar charging times depend on the availability of sunlight. In direct sunlight it can be completely recharged in about 8 hours.

The standard ELF can handle a payload of 350 lbs, including rider. The trike itself weighs between 160-180 lbs depending on accessories. The trikes start at $5495 and a variety of models and accessories are also available. You can even build your own! Obviously at that price, they aren’t for everyone, but for some this could be a very smart transportation solution for those looking to reduce transportation costs in an Eco-friendly way.

Watch the video:

What do you think? Leave your comments below…

• Their Grandma
  It’s 16 miles to my favorite supermarket. I weigh 160 pounds. I WANT ONE!!
• leel6391
  This should turn in to an engine powered vehicle to make it more demanding.
  • Donna
    It HAS an electric motor!
• Oemissions
  anyone who gets this for everyday transit instead of using a regular car should get a tax break
• Sašo Luznar
  Too expensive, I will stick with my 100$ bicycle 🙂
• t4
  Want!
• Roopie
  I think that price moves it into its own class. It can’t compete with anything that accomplishes the same goals (eg, Vespa, power assisted bike). They’ll need to work on that.
  • Donna
    Sure it does. You don’t have shelter with those.
• http://aharon.varady.net/ Aharon Varady
  Contrary to the article, bicycles are usually not legal on sidewalks, just sayin’.
  • Gregory Mead
    That depends on where you live. Long ago, in Philadelphia, you couldn’t ride on sidewalks (which I actually agree with, btw), but in other places that I’ve lived (rural and suburban areas, New Orleans, San Diego, Jacksonville, FL), it’s completely legal.
• Beate7
  Looks great! Small spelling error: The trike itself [ways] between 160-180 lbs = [weighs].
  • AENews
    Oops… corrected. Thank you sir!
• DJCCHV
  I LOVE mine!
• Amy
  Being 5’2″, I hope it would be adjust enough for less than average heights. But I do want one.
• Sugano Svetlana
  Mr. Cotter ….This is a great contribution to society.
• http://thenewnorth.org/ James M. Holtzman
  awesome is all I have to say…
• Glen McMillian
  Mass production of this sort of enclosed or semi enclosed electric trikes – legally the same as bikes – will greatly lower the costs. In another ten years or so , maybe sooner, we will be able to buy something similar for less than half the money in constant dollars.

  The trouble right now with electric bikes in this country is that they still cost a hell of a lot for what you get in comparison to a car. Three of these things cost as much as a brand new cheap car – with fifteen times as much material in it and hundred times as many complicated parts needing to be manufactured, assembled and delivered.

  Once it ( or a competitor) is mass produced and sold in large numbers the price of this rig should fall down to around a thousand bucks. When that happens you will be able to buy a new generic battery at the auto parts store and new tires at the same place you buy car tires etc etc.

  But even at five grand or more it is a good deal for people with plenty of money who live in places where they can use it often to run errands or commute. Insurance alone on a car can run as much as three thousand bucks a year. So the owner of one of these could save the cost of it back in insurance premiums alone in a hurry.

  People without a drivers license or unable to afford a conventional car could make good use of a similar machine.Most people are going to avoid riding a conventional bike even an electric to work on a regular basis no matter what for fear of getting their clothes sweaty and dirty- splashed by passing cars or getting uncomfortably chilled on cold days etc.

  Keeping the rain and wind and slush thrown up by passing cars is going to be a HUGE selling point.
• Leif Dallas
  Maybe the cop should get him a bike hmmmmmm
• ClayOwl
  I need a stronger frame to pull a mini trailer home 1,000 pounds? How much it will cost me? Color bubble gum pink it that possible to?? Picture down blown is and example…

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