Gasoline car now runs on solar power

Japanese scientists have taken a standard gas-powered car (the legendary Mazda MX-5 in this case) and converted it to rely purely on solar power to run. This was made possible by the Total Mobility Project, as the team removed the MX-5's engine and gas tank in lieu of an electric motor and battery. Seven solar panels were also installed across the hood of the car, and this setup enabled the vehicle to run at a top speed of 100km/h with a maximum range of 30km. Conversion will hit your pocket hard though, as the entire process will cost $21,000 but for drivers who run an average of 60km a day can save up to $8,400 across the time span of five years. Guess it will take a good 15 years or so before you can start counting your ROI, which by then the car would've probably be sent to the junkyard.

Flexible photovoltaic panel is suitable for travellers going to remote region

Travelling to remote region such as mountains, isolated islands and tropical forests can be exciting. Natural places offer beautiful sceneries, clean air, and serenity that are effective to relieve stresses and headaches which the travellers got during their hectic workdays in big cities.

When travellers set up camps in remote region, they might need electricity for powering lamps, recharging their GPS handset, mobile phones and even laptops. Portable navigational devices will enable travellers to go to certain destinations. Mobile phone is also important to help them communicate with "civilised word" in case of accident. If those equipments cannot work, travellers will be lost.

Usually travellers burn dry twigs to cook food, and to provide lights and heat at night. But it is not recommended to burn wood, especially during the summer, in natural places as it might cause forest fire.

Travellers buy a lot of batteries which will become additional weights in their rucksacks as energy bank for their electronic devices. We all know that the capacity of batteries is limited. When they are used up, they will be thrown away. High powered batteries contain various toxic materials which can pollute the environment. Most travellers are reluctant to bring them back home for recycling. Such practices have to be stopped. A better solution is now available on the market.

Then, solar panel was invented. Travellers could use this photovoltaic technology to recharge batteries or run their communication equipment. Unfortunately, photovoltaic panel is sold in big size. It is also rigid and cannot be inserted to small bags. If a traveller wants to bring the photovoltaic panel during his journey, he or she cannot really enjoy her trip because she has to handle the panel cautiously. If it is broken, it cannot function anymore.

A photovoltaic company www.fvgenergy.com has provided a solution to this problem. In their website, they offer flexible photovoltaic panels which are rollable and available in the range of 5, 10, and 20 watts. This power supply can easily be rolled-up and inserted to a small bag.

Solar Sail that use photovoltaic panels

Another futuristic design of passenger ferry is the one shown in the picture below. Solar sailor combines solar and wind energy to power the boat.

There are a number of design constraints which naval architects usually face when designing sail boat. Wind blowing on horizontal direction usually forces a ship or a boat to an inclined position, thus creating frequent rolling to the vehicles. In addition, if solar panels are to be installed the amount of energy will not be fully enough to drive electric motors that propel the boat. On the other hand, if sails are to be installed, it will not fully efective in propelling the boat all the time because wind blows are unpredictable. There are times when there is no wind blowing or if there is one, its direction might be from the front.

So, naval architects will have to compromise all these constraints in order to reach an optimum design which effectively rely on renewable energy. To minimize water resistance and maintain boat stability, catamaran (twin hulls) or trimaran (three hulls) is applied. Boat material will have to be as light as possible so that the boat will not need a lot of energy to  move.

Improvements in photovoltaic technology have brought many design possibilities come to reality. For instance, thin film photovoltaic cells or commercially called flexible photovoltaic panels in the near future will be taken into consideration when naval architects need to design sails for their boat. Besides having lighter weight, its flexibility can enable it to be integrated into the sail. But flexible photovoltaic panels have to be backed up by strong sail material which can endure stresses and strains caused by wind blows.

The application of solar sail will become the primary choice in the future. So, a green boat will be driven by electric motors whose electricity is supplied by a sail which also propels the boat.

Another problem that we must consider is about toxic substances contained in batteries that store the electrical energy. Batteries must be sealed properly to prevent them from any leakages that can pollute sea water.

When all these design constraints have been solved or compromised, passengers can enjoy their trip free of noise, vibrations, and most importantly toxic fumes.
The above boat is presented in a web page on the following link:

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/09/transportation-tuesday-the-solar-sailor/. It says that the boat will carry passengers to Alcatraz, a famous island prison located in the middle of San Francisco bay.
Conventional Sail Boat
Even though conventional sail boat has long been replaced by cargo, passenger ships and airplanes in transporting people and goods, they are still popular among hobbyists and tourists. One important example is Phinisi schooner from Indonesia. This type of sail boat has got 2 masts where the sails are installed. In the part, the boats are used to transport people and goods between small and big islands in Indonesia. Today more Phinisi schooners are being developed to cater the increasing demand for liveaboard vessels that transport visitors to various destinations in this country such as Raja Ampat, Cendrawasih bay, and Wakatobi. The sails and the masts are not used during the whole operation of the vessel. These liveaboard vessels have been installed with marine diesel engines to enable them to travel faster at sea. 

Hybrid solar photovoltaic - wind system is applicable to power boats

Last night while I was surfing on the internet, I found a website which displayed a picture of a boat that is powered by sunlight. It is called Solar Sailor. It is the proud of Australia, especially the city of Sydney. It features a futuristic design with a catamaran twin-hull form and solar panels that also function as "sails". The catamaran has got eight solar panels mounted on top of its roof. The panels can be adjusted to harness both the sun and the wind. When adjusted to near vertical positions, the panels will function as sails. Photovoltaic panels absorbs solar energy and convert it to electricity. The electricity is then used to drive electric motors that propel the boat.

Back-up batteries are needed to store the electrical energy and can be fully charged in four hours. During the 2000 Sydney Olympic games, the boat attracted worldwide attention both from the mass-media and sports' fans who went to attend the games.

In general, one hull design boat has high frictional and wave resistance. To minimize it, the designers of the boat applied a twin-hull type called catamaran that reduce the block coefficient of the watercraft. This kind of design makes the deck area larger and more stable. As passenger ferry and hospitality vessel, the boat can carry 110 passengers, and is operated by two crews. Solar Sailor is the word's largest solar vessel of her era. It is also the first commercial marine vessel which has been totally powered by a combination of renewable energy i.e. the sun and the wind.

It is also important to see that the boat does not emit fumes, noise, and does not pollute sea water. Since the boat is an environmentally friendly marine vehicle, it can enter various restricted waterways which are sensitive.

The introduction of solar boat into the world market opens more possibilites for the application of such hybrid system as photovoltaic - wind energy in many other boats and ships. Unfortunately, the cost of producing highly efficient mono-crystalline photovoltaic cells is still high. Such investment is worth it if we take into account the environmental impacts that solar boat brings. It does not need fossil fuel so it will not emit toxic gases which significantly contribute to air and water pollution as well as global warming. Such savings in fuel is very important in todays situation when the soaring price of fossil fuel has reached 140 dollars/ barrel as of June 2008. by Charles Roring

A photovoltaic hybrid system is better

by Charles Roring

Solar energy is another renewable energy resources which can be converted directly into electricity. In fact, all the renewable energy whether it is hydropower or biofuel come from solar energy. Traditionally, villagers have used solar energy for drying grain, clothes, and fish. Tropical countries enjoy full sun light all year long. For example, farmers make concrete floor at the front yard to dry rice paddy (as shown in the picture). By doing so, farmers can save cost and get higher profit. There are drying machines available on the market but the price of such machines are very expensive. In addition, their capacity is very limited and they still need fuel to run. Sun rays heat sea water and evaporates it into steam and then into clouds. When it is cooled, it will pur down in hills and mountains. Water flows down into waterfalls, rivers and back to the sea again. When it flows down through waterfalls its potential energy is collected, channelled to penstock that goes to powerhouse, there the water jet is converted into mechanical energy by water turbine that is coupled with electrical generator.

To produce grains, plants such as corn, soya beans need sunlight to carry out the photosynthesis. Grains contain oil which will be extracted by bio-fuel pressing machine.

The direct conversion of solar energy into electricity can be done by using photovoltaic panel or module. A photovoltaic (PV) panel consists of a number of solar cells. PV cells convert sunlight directly into electricity without polluting the surrounding environment. PV cell is a semiconductor device. Another semiconductor device which is similar to PV cell is diode. Their characteristics are similar. Diode is an electrical load whereas PV cell is a source of electricity. PV cells are made of at least two layers of semi-conductor material. One layer has a positive charge, and the other negative. When sun rays enter or hit the surface of the cells, some of the photons from the rays are absorbed by atoms in the junction of the layers. This will energized the electrons and freeing them from their negative layer to flow through an external circuit and back into positive layer.

To increase the amount of electricity, dozens of individual photovoltaic cells are grouped and interconnected in a sealed, weatherproof panel or module. If we want to double the voltage, we have to wire two panels in series. The current remains constant. The current will be doubled if we connect them in parallel. These kind of connections make photovoltaic system becomes flexible.

A PV designer can achieve a desired power, voltage and current by combining PV modules in serial and parallel connections. PV module is suitable to be deployed in remote regions where there are small cluster of homes. It is also powerful to pump water in an agriculture estate or provide electricity of communication device.

Solar panel does not need refuelling. It only needs sunlight. As long as the panel is not broken, it can produce electricity for up to 25 years. Usually, photovoltaic panels are installed on the roof or deck shade of a house.

The electrical energy a PV system produces is stored in batteries. At night, the house can still use electricity from these batteries. To ensure stable supply of electricity, a hybrid system should be considered. Such hybrid system consists of wind turbine, and PV system. Sometimes an emergency generator is added. Most PV designers prefer hybrid system when deploying electricity to remote health care or weather station, or communication centers in remote region. Hybrid system can give uninterruptible supply of electricity to people who use it.