Solar-based race

Noah Davis was trying to teach high school students about solar energy when he figured out an exciting way to grab their attention. Instead of a light bulb or a fan consuming the electricity, how about a remote control car?

From that idea later came Solar Rollers, the flagship program of Colorado-based non-profit organization Energetics Education, which has students design, build and race solar-powered remote control cars.

“Two years ago, we trialed, and we had like four high school teams,” Davis said. “We all prototyped different solar-powered remote control cars and when we had our final race … the cars were just so much faster than anybody had ever hoped. They were absolutely flying. They were banging into each other and drifting around the corners.”

And with the help of local non-profit Envirolution and interest from local high schools, Solar Rollers will have a Reno competition in June. Right now, there’s about five teams who have signed up, and Davis says that he needs about five more for this to become a reality. The leagues typically consist of about 10 to 12 teams.

The program costs $1,000 for each team, but the cost can be offset by scholarships or donations from various sources. For that $1,000, the team receives a materials kit—worth about $2,000—and access to an online course that teaches the team members everything they need to know about how to make a Solar Roller. Davis said the cost of this program is much cheaper than robotics programs that some schools are currently involved in.

“And in addition to that, it’s an energy-based competition,” Davis said. “It’s not just the technology and the fabrication of parts and the engineering that goes into it; it’s actually an energy management program the whole race.”

Davis said that Energetics Education leaves the program open when it comes to the logistics of the teams because high schools typically have little flexibility in their curriculums for programs like this. Some schools run it as an after-school club, some run it with a community member or parent at the helm, and others run it as part of a class. That part is up to the schools. Energetics Education just sets up the competition at the end of the school year and helps along the way.

And the response from students involved in the program has been incredible, according to Davis, with some participants going “completely down the rabbit hole” and putting “endless hours into perfecting the [Solar Roller] and fabricating every little part in carbon fiber themselves.” Others with less confidence or time can just follow the template in the online course and have a car that works very well, too.

“We’ve just been astounded with the way students have reacted to it,” Davis said. “We have some students who are saying that they’re not just going to become a solar engineer of some kind, but they’re going to devote their career to solar rollers racing. It’s just so funny. It’s like a two-year-old program, but I have this vision of this being a big national competition and I think it will very quickly. We already have kids who are making websites offering their services as consultants to other teams. It’s hilarious. They’re hooked. It’s pretty remarkable. … They learn a lot about nuts and bolts engineering and testing and what actually works and what breaks, and that’s very valuable.”