Solar Energy: Terrestrial and Celestial a short course Thursday, 9 AM to 4 PM, May 18,1995 at ISDC in Cleveland, OH This course will be offered at the International Space Development Conference May 1995. This course was invented to help people interested in space solar power get up to speed on the relevant technology and economics of solar energy systems. Things have happened since the NASA/DOE study on solar power satellites in the late 70s. Thin film solar cells have been perfected; the cost of solar cells has dropped by orders of magnitude since the 70s; wireless power transmission is well understood. You will learn about what is going on in terrestrial solar energy, for two main reasons. First, terrestrial solar is a good first step to space solar. Much of the happenings in terrestrial solar have applications to space. It is also a good way to see what technology is well developed and what still needs a lot of work. Second, you can make a buck in terrestrial solar now. And having some funds, you could invest some of them in space solar development. Call or fax to 607-785-6499for registration information. Instructor: Dr. Gay E. Canough, ETM Solar Works, Inc. Syllabus A. What has gone before: A short history of solar power in space and on Earth B. The Need for Energy On Earth What is the current demand and use of energy? Who uses the most, who has none? What will the need be like in the near future? How large is the market for energy? Who is making the bucks now? How can we horn in? C. Why should you be in this business? 1) solar electric systems are now less expensive to install than line extension for houses half mile off the grid or more 2) the cost of solar electric systems is dropping, while utility rates are rising 3) power systems will go to distributed systems (just like computers) 4) electric vehicles will take over from gas powered ones 5) fossil fuel burning is too dirty 6) we found a working thermonuclear reactor, a safe 93 million miles away, which produced 100 billion billion kilowatt-hours per second! D. Stepping up to solar energy: from energy efficiency to solar electric systems E. How does the solar electric system work? Details about photovoltaics, storage systems, wiring, etc. F. Stepping up to Space Solar Power syllabus continued on p. 280
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