“Northern California Solar Regatta.” SMUD Community Solar. SMUD,
n.d.Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
https://www.smud.org/en/about-smud/environment/renewable-energy/solar-regatta.htm
This is a boat racing event where teams from different high schools and colleges compete to build the fastest boat. There is a twist however, these boats are powered by solar energy that they collect as they race, meaning that the efficiency of energy collection is what is really being tested. This competition is open to all schools north of Fresno and is held in the Rancho Seco Recreational Area. SMUD loans out the solar panels to schools, due to the large price tag that is still associated with these products.
This is an incredible thing for the future of solar power. It is undeniable that very often seeing is believing. Having a program where young people can work with solar panels and build a machine that they can use to compete with other schools allows them to see solar energy at work directly. This in turn cements the concept to them as not only feasible but as an immediate solution to the energy problems of the future. These young people will go on carrying these ideas into their adulthood, spreading the idea and in all likelihood being more likely to install solar panels of their own.
I agree with you it’s such a great thing that teens and younger people are being exposed to alternative energy and therefore being able to inform other people about it. However I think that people out there such as big corporations and companies should be working on things like this because it could really help the environment in the long run. Do you think that we are being exposed enough to alternative energy?
This is a great competition and a well written article. It is smart to raise the next generation with solar energy and ask then to realistic problems.
I agree with you that this competition it good. It exposes teenagers to ways to create and collect alternative energy. This is important because we are the generation that needs to know how to do this the most/best. What else can we do to create more interest in alternative energy?