SOLAR PANEL RESEARCH

This Automated Transit Network (ATN ) is unique compared to the others because the plan is to implement solar power. As of right now I do not believe a fully solar powered ATN is possible. Today the only fully solar powered building or a vehicle out in the market is a zero net energy building. 

A zero net energy building are buildings that produce energy as much as they can consume. During the day, the zero net energy houses harvest as much energy as it can and then send excess energy to the grid. During the night, if energy needs to be used, it will use the energy that was harvested during the day. 

With the constant use of the Superway, there is no time to recharge the grid or power it 24 hours, 7 days a week. The Superway can be powered half by solar and half by electricity but just not fully for the time being. Reading upon 2014-2015 group report, the commercial solar panels sponsored by Miasole, the solar panels are only 17% efficient. The standard solar panels range around 15% efficiently while higher grade range around 20%.  

The picture above is the solar panel, last year's group was trying to implement. The small scale solar panel that draws only 17% of energy is not enough to power the tracks. According to comments from engineers, lab grade solar panels can absorb up to 40-50% which can make a huge difference for our model scale. 

According to ABC news, there is a new discovery made with solar panels. There is an "absolute black" solar panel that is able to absorb 96% of light. There are many new discoveries still to be found. If this "absolute black" solar panel can be commercialized soon, this model and the full scale prototype can make this fully solar powered ATN possible.  

References:

https://www.inist.org/library/2015-05-21.Ornellas%20et%20al.Spartan%20Superway%202014-2015%20Final%20Report.SJSU%20ME195.pdf

http://miasole.com/en/miasole-advantages/flexible-solar-cell/

http://www.greenhomebuildermag.com/spring-11-44.php

https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1qgvs4/how_much_energy_is_lost_from_reflection_on_solar/

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/03/absolute-black-solar-panels-absorb-almost-all-sunlight/

http://www.sunedison.com/home-solar-systems/blog/net-zero-energy-homes

http://www.zerohomes.org/zero-energy-homes/

http://solarenergy-usa.com/solar-info/solar-and-electric-vehicles/