Grand Challenge: An Introduction To The Future Of Solar Energy

Introduction of your Grand Challenge

Our challenge topic is to make solar energy more economical. By doing so we need to make solar energy more efficient. Although the sun provides a lot of energy, we are currently only able to efficiently convert 10 to 20 percent of it into electricity. This topic is very challenging because costs of electricity that is provided by solar energy is around 3 to 6 times more expensive than the current prices of electricity. Storage is another problem that we face because it 's rather hard to storage solar energy, unlike storing other sources of energy like heat. This challenge exists because fossil fuel produces toxic waste such as carbon dioxide which pollutes the climate we live in. Fossil fuel which is our main source of energy will one day run out and we will need solar energy to replace it. Solar energy produces no waste, and with no harmful leftover. “Solar energy is radiant

The purer the material, the more expensive it is. So when we rely on these pure silicones, the prices for solar panels will go up as more of purer silicones are required. So even if the efficiency increases for using photovoltaic cells to change solar energy to electricity, the prices will go up, and that does not solve the problem of the high cost.

Proposed Design Solutions

As a group we hoped to make a design that would be more efficient through reducing the cost, improving the storage, and increasing the efficiency of converting the solar energy into electricity. Design 1 increased the efficiency by combining two of the technologies that currently exist. It uses the solar panels to absorb the solar energy which will convert it into electricity and the rest of the heat that are not converted will flow

through the pipes underground to the water source. The rest of the heat will then heat up the water to convert it into steam which will drive the turbines located above it, generating more