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Future Cars > Future Fuels > Solar Energy

Solar Energy (Sunlight)


A Renewable Fuel

The mother of all earthly fuels, solar energy reaches us not only from light and heat, but also in wind, waves, and of course, biomass—in which plants capture some of that solar energy and, through photosynthesis, convert it chemical energy.

There is no more fundamental fuel than solar energy, there is no more abundant fuel, there is no more powerful fuel. There is also no fuel more difficult to harness


Production

With regard to producing usable transportation fuel from solar energy, there are two systems:

• Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): in this system, reflective materials concentrate the sun’s energy, creating high temperatures. The corresponding heat powers a generator which converts it to electricity.

• The advantage to this somewhat inexpensive option is that the derived power could be used in electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells. However, this system contributes some pollutants into the atmosphere because it uses fossil fuels such as natural gas.

• Photovoltaics (PV):Photovoltaics use cells (think solar panels) to convert solar energy directly into electricity.

• To that end, the advantage of PVs is that they are likely to be on-board vehicle power sources with zero emissions. The chief disadvantage is that currently, PV cells are very inefficient, capable of converting only about 15% of the solar energy they receive into electricity.


Infrastructure

Infrastructure is in Place.
Electricity produced at CSPs could naturally use the existing utilities infrastructure.


Compared to Solar Power

To clarify, solar energy is what the sun sends our way, while solar power is what we’re able to harness as electricity using CSP, Photovoltaics and other technologies.


The Future…

… of solar energy as a transportation fuel will depend in part upon PVs developing substantially higher efficiency rates. Currently future solar cars are in development.


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