Solar Rollers Top Speed Record Threatened
The Solar Rollers program allows students to really push the envelope without pushing the physical limits of a human being inside the car. Faster acceleration than a Tesla. Faster scale top speed than a Bugatti Veyron. And they're getting faster every year...
12 High School Teams will compete at the 2015 Solar Rollers Trophy Race. Will Summit County's record of 28 mph endure?
Nepris Connects Classrooms with Professionals
As future consumers and professionals, young people need to know more about energy and engineering . Nepris effectively connects them to industry professionals like you so you can share your perspective and knowledge.
I just finished a lively discussion with a Sacramento fifth grade classroom - without ever leaving my office in Colorado. We talked about electric vehicles and solar energy and all parties thoroughly enjoyed the session. It's hard to say who gets more out of these Nepris sessions, the students or the visiting industry rep. Give it a try sometime and share what you know about energy and engineering with young people.
Welcome aboard SunPower!
Many thanks to the SunPower corporation for providing their exceptional PV cells, and to SunPower Foundation for vital support of Energetics Education and the Solar Rollers program.
Look at the top solar-powered vehicles around the planet and you'll notice one similarity: SunPower PV cells on top. Whether it's the Solar Impulse 2 globetrotting plane (17,000 cells), the Turanor PlanetSolar world-circling yacht (38,000 cells), or the SunSwift Solar Sportscar (248 cells) the cells are all SunPower back-contact monocrystalline cells.
This is no coincidence. SunPower's unique cells are known for exceptionally high efficiency along with flexibility and durability. They provide the high power-to-weight ratio necessary in solar vehicles while putting up with the constant abuse of road vibrations - along with the occasional ding from a road rock or overenthusiastic spectator. Without the support of heavy tempered glass in a standard solar panel, other brittle cells quickly crack apart and their output drops dramatically.
We can now add a new vehicle to this exclusive SunPowered list: the Solar Roller (12-28 cells). SunPower is generously providing cells to Energetics Education for use by high school teams participating in Solar Rollers. One additional benefit for students is that the back-only soldering process is simpler and more forgiving than traditional cells which require full front-and-back soldered tabs. Many thanks to SunPower for bringing this extraordinary technology to the next generation of solar engineers and consumers.
In addition, the nonprofit SunPower Foundation has reviewed Solar Rollers and elected to sponsor the program as it grows to serve more high school teams with hands-on solar energy education. The Foundation shares Energetics Education's vision of widespread Solar Rollers competitions between hundreds and eventually thousands of energy-innovating teams. The Sunpower Foundation was created to empower, inspire, and motivate a new generation of solar energy leaders in communities around the world. Let's do it!
Solar Rollers at Vail Global Energy Forum
Come to Beaver Creek for the 2015 Vail Global Energy Forum and see the energy industry's biggest players attempt to keep a Solar Roller under control.
What does the Chief Technology Officer of Tesla have in common with Condoleeza Rice, the Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the President of Halliburton, and the Governor of Colorado?
They'll all be at the Vail Global Energy Forum checking out the Solar Rollers booth! Come by if you're in the neighborhood from noon to 3 on Saturday, March 14 or from 9 to 3 on Sunday, March 15.
Texas gets ready to Solar Roll
Noah Davis, Executive Director of Energetics Ed, is on his way to the Texas State Capitol to present Solar Rollers to the STEM Workforce Council and the Texas legislative session. Austin is already proving to be quite receptive to the Solar Rollers program and we're eager to see what response we get from the decision-makers in the Capitol building. And of course everyone wants an answer to the crucial question "will security allow a few Solar Rollers donuts on the carpet?" Strictly for educational purposes of course.
CMC gives Energetics Ed some Class!
Colorado Mountain College is running an exciting new class in Social Entrepreneurship - a bustling and rapidly evolving sector here in the Roaring Fork Valley. Energetics Education is honored to be working directly with CMC students to explore and directly address some of the challenges facing a start-up nonprofit. Students will be working with Energetics Education to develop sample strategic plans, grant applications and other materials that support the venture while building relevant student skills. We're stoked and glad to formally connect with CMC and with Angie Davlyn, who is creating and leading this remarkable course.