Twenty teams working towards 2007 Solar Decathlon
The next Solar Decathlon will take place next year, the third in a series that started in 2002 and continues in 2005. Twenty collegiate teams will participate in the event, which is about finding ways to use solar energy to "sustain everyday household functions, power a car, and provide a comfortable and attractive place to live," according to BP, which announced Friday it will return to sponsor the event for the third time. The twenty teams will each receive $100,000 from the Department of Energy over two years to design and construct their completely sustainable solar homes. BP is also offering the teams solar materials at a discount and technological advice. The homes will be moved to the National Mall in D.C. next summer and will be judged on efficiency, style and innovation. The schools are not tasked to build a car, instead the competition rewards teams "that can plan their use of transportation the most efficiently and that use their houses' energy systems to provide the energy to meet their transportation needs." Sounds like prime EV territory to me.
[Source: BP]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bill Dale 12:35PM (10/30/2006)
Following the parallel worlds of nanotechnology and alternative vehicles for many years-- starting with rotary engines, electric, fuel cell, hybrids and eventually resettling on the greatest promise available in electrics-- I have come to several conclusions: electric vehicles will be our future; plug-in hybrids will be the bridging technology to ubiquitous electrics; we will move from plug-in hybrids to pure battery-driven electrics, and, ultimately to ultracapacitor (UC) electrics.
The trucks and cars soon to be offered by Phoenix Motorcars with Altair battery tech will suredly be compared in coming years to the Model T; many competing technologies are soon to follow. But as good as these new batteries will be, UCs will be even better, as batteries have inherent lifespan limitations. UCs offer indefinitely long life and even quicker charging, which will be key to the demise of gasoline stations.
One of the beauties of electrics is that even if/when we develop UCs that make the best batteries obsolete, the battery-powered cars themselves will not be obsolete-- we will be able to upgrade our electric cars with each new breakthrough in electric storage.
The same nanotech that will finally make electrics viable will also make decentralized electric power possible... that is, carbon nanotubes and their kindred will make affordable home electric production possible, and we will be disconnecting from the power grid en masse. We will have the ability to power our cars without having to pay anyone for the privilege.
No gasoline credit card bills, no charges every few months from Jiffy Lube and others; no antifreeze polluting our bays and rivers, or poisoning our pets; no money going to the very same oil producing countries that finance terrorism; smog will be controllable.
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