Solar District Cup
Problem statement
With the recent wildfires developing in California, it has become increasingly apparent that climate change is a concerning issue for the world. Our dependence on fossil fuels has accelerated this issue and demands a sustainable solution to increase the longevity of the population and the planet. Such sustainable solutions could be achieved through offsetting our non-renewable energy use with renewable sources, such as solar systems. Thus, the US Department of Energy is hosting the Solar District Cup which aims to make solar energy a more viable alternative to the conventional sources of energy by making it more efficient, and affordable to everyday consumers. Conversely, the problems with solar energy is the variability of the weather and sun which ultimately affects the efficiency of these systems. The weather in these locations affect the amount of sunlight that can be absorbed by the solar panels, and thus, the amount of energy generated by these systems. This variability can be countered with a storage device which would be able to provide the needed energy during off-peak periods and increase the overall efficiency of the system [1]. However, integrating storage into the system is complex, and integrating the system into the grid provides a challenge that still requires innovative solutions. We intend to develop a solar plus storage energy system for a campus district that will be submitted to the Solar District Cup in order to demonstrate the feasibility of solar energy on a large scale. Ultimately, our solution will maximize energy offset and financial savings for a given district over the useful life of the system.
Team members
Fahad Al Shaiban – leader
Sultan Al Wahedi – communicator
Muhannad Al Hasani – accountant, admin
Client
Solar District Cup