Harnessing the Sun's Power
The Solar Cells On the Roof of Small (SCORS) committee, a part of
the William and Mary Society of Physics Students, is devoted to the
creation of a solar power facility on the roof of Small Hall. The
project will demonstrate the viability of harnessing solar energy to
supplement campus power as a part of the College of William and Mary’s
sustainability initiative. The group has designed and is constructing
a solar cell testing station with funds from COS to measure the
electrical performance of different solar cell technologies. Once the
most efficient technology is determined, it will be used as the basis
for the final facility which will be integrated into the newly
renovated physics building. In addition to providing electrical power,
the solar array will also be used to educate the greater university
community about the physics and capabilities of photovoltaic power.
At present, the group is assembling the test station. It consists of a 167 W multi-crystalline solar panel that charges a battery. The battery in turn powers a weather station and a data-acquisition computer. The solar powered weather station can be accessed at http://physics.wm.edu/SCORS/index.html. Solar cell technologies under testing include: multi-crystalline silicon, poly-crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, and thin films. After the completion of this initial phase, and pending additional funding, the project can proceed to the design, construction, and installation of a large scale photo-voltaic array for electricity on the roof of Small Hall.
