Vaughan 1

Davis Vaughan Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1103 10 Sept. 2013 Topic Proposal: Solar Energy As an Efficient Source of Electricity Introduction/Overview This project will explore the possibilities of having solar energy as a primary means of power in America. Scientists and engineers around the world have been working on improving solar cells and making them both more efficient and more affordable. If solar cells could become an extremely efficient source of energy, then they could replace a large amount of the dirtier types of energy that we currently use. Some of these possibilities are: solar powered cars that have no carbon emissions yet still have sufficient power to compete, and solar panels on top of high-rise buildings that could tilt with the angle of the sun and store enough energy per day to run the entire building. The sun provides an immense source of energy. If we could harness just twenty-five acres of its surface, then we would have enough power to supply the current energy demand of the world as long as we needed to. Obviously the concept of harnessing the surface of the sun is absurd, but the fact remains that the energy the sun gives off can be a seemingly endless supply of harnessable energy if only we use the correct tools. I am coming into this project with little knowledge of how the process of capturing solar energy actually works. What knowledge I do have has come from my years in Environmental Science and Chemistry in high school, and my interest in the uses of solar power. For preliminary research, I have found a book online named Power From the Sun, written by

Vaughan 2
!

William B. Stine and Michael Geyer. I believe this book will prove valuable in understanding the potential advances in solar technology and the different ways it can be harnessed. It has already brought to my attention some of the major criticisms and problems that face using solar energy as a primary source of energy. Some of these include: actually storing the energy for times when the sun is not out, and efficiency of capturing the energy especially since only a relatively small amount of the energy the sun gives off reaches the earth (albeit a fairly constant source). This preliminary research has helped me to narrow my question in that it is less about whether solar energy is useable, and more about choosing which technique to capture the energy is most sensible, cost-efficient, and productive. The topic of a future energy source has plenty of complexity. Many proponents of wind energy and nuclear energy see their types as more advantageous than solar energy. Wind especially has already been proven to work quite well, even if many wind turbines are needed. Nuclear energy also provides a possible large output energy source, but comes with a huge threat to safety. Within Congress there is constantly debate over which type of energy is suitable for the future of America. Environmental and economic factors both have to be given serious thought before any idea can even be proposed to go one way or another. Not only within America is this topic being given thought. Groups in Europe such as the European Wind Energy Association have also been fighting for their position in the advancement of these technologies.
!

Initial Inquiry Question(s) There are many directions this project could take. Is solar energy the best type of energy we can use going forward? How much energy would be needed to be stored per day and how much space would these solar panels take up to provide that amount of energy? Is there a way to

Vaughan 3
!

make solar cells on a nanoscale that would be more space efficient? Would solar energy allow us to be free from having to buy oil/fossil fuels from other countries?

My Interest in this Topic I absolutely love chemistry. The whole idea of hypothesizing an idea for an experiment and seeing that work come to life in a lab excites me. That said, I see a need for solar energy in the world around me. I see us depleting our current fossil fuel resources and I wonder, Couldnt we do something better? Something more efficient for everyone? That is where I see solar power as the answer. I am extremely interested in seeing where this project leads me and to see what I dig up about the different potentials of this endless energy. I already know that the capturing of this energy is possible; the question is, can it be improved, and if so, how?
!

Next Steps As I move forward with this project, I will continue to read further into Power From the Sun, and I will also look for other angles about the uses of solar energy in more of a commercial setting. I know that some of the professors on campus here at UNCC have been doing work with solar energy, so an interview with them may be useful in determining what the future of solar energy might be and if it could outshine the competition. The library will, of course, also provide me with countless sources of information about research on solar energy that my predecessors have already done for me.