FAMU-FSU Mechanical Engineering

TEAM SOLARIS

As fossil fuel technologies become obsolete, from the depletion of fuel sources, the demand for alternative energy technologies, such as solar power, fuel cells, and wind power, will grow. The main reason these alternative energy sources have not been more widely utilized, is because fossil fuels are relatively low cost compared to the initial setup price for the alternative sources, as well as the lack of availability of efficient alternative energy devices.
Of the available alternative energy sources, the sun is quite possibly the easiest to obtain, and is a great source of pollution free energy. The goal of our project, Solaris, is to harness the sun’s energy and in turn, generate electricity. This is to be done by use of a Stirling engine/generator system, which will be placed at the focal point of a parabolic reflector.