Technical Report Introduction Draft 1
1. Introduction
This proposal has been developed in response to the request for developing solutions for an engineering problem. It aims to provide the Land Transport Authority and bus operator Go-Ahead Singapore with a focused overview of how design implementations can help to optimize the efficiency of harnessing solar energy for their proof-of-concept trial buses.
1.1 Background
According to the bus operator, Go-Ahead Singapore (2021), the proof-of-concept (POC) trials for buses retrofitted with rooftop-mounted solar panels were launched as part of their efforts to implement solutions to support sustainable transportation. The trials aim to improve vehicle efficiency, reduce consumption of diesel fuel and reduce carbon emissions. The trials are expected to run for six months from April until September to undergo various tests (Straits Times, 2021).
The bus operator has stated on their website (Go-Ahead Singapore, 2021) that these efforts are in-line with the objective of being a responsible public transport operator, and align with the Land Transport Authority’s commitment for a 100% cleaner energy bus fleet by 2040 under the Singapore Green Plan 2030 to reduce the carbon footprint of public transport (Land Transport Authority, 2021). As such, new bus models that are purchased by LTA must be cleaner energy vehicles that satisfy the European Emission Standards (EES), specifically Euro VI-compliant or fully electric models.
Currently, Singapore’s newest bus models consist of MAN A22 buses which are powered by Euro V Diesel engines, but the buses that are running the solar panel trials are powered by Euro VI variants which have the lowest pollution emission ratings according to the EES (Land Transport Guru, n.d.). Both of these diesel engine variants can generate up to 235kW of power. Even though the buses run on cleaner diesel engines, they still produce 756.96 tonnes of carbon every year.
1.2 Current Implementations
According to Land Transport Guru (n.d.), the Singapore Go-Ahead bus is fitted with the solar panel supplied by TRAILAR. TRAILAR is a UK-based company that provides CIGS thin-film solar cells which are reputable for being thin, lightweight and, flexible.
CIGS Solar Cells, an acronym for Copper Indium Gallium Selenide, is a highly stable, high-performance, and mature type of thin-film PV technology. The composition of CIGS semiconductors has not been significantly modified since 1986, but apparent advances in production technology have enhanced its efficiency over time.
The advantages of these cells include their high absorption rate which allows it to absorb a large portion of the solar spectrum, enabling them to achieve high efficiency. The CIGS solar cells also have a protective buffer layer that is formed by grain boundaries which helps prevent surface recombination and allows grain sizes that are less than 1 micrometer to be used for device fabrication.
CIGS solar cells received global attention for their solar power generation due to their capability to achieve 22.8% efficiency in comparison to crystalline silicon (c-SI) wafer-based solar cells. For a production capacity of 1000 MW y^−1 with 15% module efficiency, the CIGS module production cost is expected to be $0.34 W^−1.
The technology used by the company does not only include the CIGS solar panels but also the microcontroller which helps to keep track of the amount of power saved by using solar energy. The website also states that these two solar panels that are installed on the roof of the bus are able to produce a combined 1000 watts.
However, although the panels are able to generate 1000 watts of power, a single-decker bus requires at least _____ to run efficiently. The lack of space on the roof of the bus can be referred to from the dimensions of the bus in Figure 1. and also the physical qualities of the solar panel itself prevent the solar panels from being installed on other parts of the bus other than the roof prevents utilizing the solar energy to generate more power for the bus.
1.3 Problem Statement
Ideally, installing only rooftop-mounted solar panels on public buses without utilizing other limited-available spaces such as the laminated bus windows, could help to reduce carbon emissions and diesel consumption by providing an additional power supply. However, due to the limited amount of space on the roof of the public bus, the amount of carbon emission reduced is limited to 3.7 tonnes per bus per year. (Kok,2021). By replacing the laminated glass on bus windows with photovoltaic glass to harness solar power by utilizing limited-available space on the vehicle in addition to the rooftop-mounted solar panels can help to increase the reduction of carbon emission.
1.4 Purpose statement
The purpose of this report is to illustrate to the bus operators on how the implementation of photovoltaic (PV) glass on public buses can help to reduce the carbon emission produced by buses. The photovoltaic glasses will replace the current laminated glass commonly used by public buses to utilize the idle space to generate solar power. The additional power generated by the PV glass with the existing rooftop-mounted solar panels helps to reduce the buses’ dependence on their diesel engine.
This proposal has been developed in response to the request for developing solutions for an engineering problem. It aims to provide the Land Transport Authority and bus operator Go-Ahead Singapore with a focused overview of how design implementations can help to optimize the efficiency of harnessing solar energy for their proof-of-concept trial buses.
1.1 Background
According to the bus operator, Go-Ahead Singapore (2021), the proof-of-concept (POC) trials for buses retrofitted with rooftop-mounted solar panels were launched as part of their efforts to implement solutions to support sustainable transportation. The trials aim to improve vehicle efficiency, reduce consumption of diesel fuel and reduce carbon emissions. The trials are expected to run for six months from April until September to undergo various tests (Straits Times, 2021).
The bus operator has stated on their website (Go-Ahead Singapore, 2021) that these efforts are in-line with the objective of being a responsible public transport operator, and align with the Land Transport Authority’s commitment for a 100% cleaner energy bus fleet by 2040 under the Singapore Green Plan 2030 to reduce the carbon footprint of public transport (Land Transport Authority, 2021). As such, new bus models that are purchased by LTA must be cleaner energy vehicles that satisfy the European Emission Standards (EES), specifically Euro VI-compliant or fully electric models.
Currently, Singapore’s newest bus models consist of MAN A22 buses which are powered by Euro V Diesel engines, but the buses that are running the solar panel trials are powered by Euro VI variants which have the lowest pollution emission ratings according to the EES (Land Transport Guru, n.d.). Both of these diesel engine variants can generate up to 235kW of power. Even though the buses run on cleaner diesel engines, they still produce 756.96 tonnes of carbon every year.
1.2 Current Implementations
According to Land Transport Guru (n.d.), the Singapore Go-Ahead bus is fitted with the solar panel supplied by TRAILAR. TRAILAR is a UK-based company that provides CIGS thin-film solar cells which are reputable for being thin, lightweight and, flexible.
CIGS Solar Cells, an acronym for Copper Indium Gallium Selenide, is a highly stable, high-performance, and mature type of thin-film PV technology. The composition of CIGS semiconductors has not been significantly modified since 1986, but apparent advances in production technology have enhanced its efficiency over time.
The advantages of these cells include their high absorption rate which allows it to absorb a large portion of the solar spectrum, enabling them to achieve high efficiency. The CIGS solar cells also have a protective buffer layer that is formed by grain boundaries which helps prevent surface recombination and allows grain sizes that are less than 1 micrometer to be used for device fabrication.
CIGS solar cells received global attention for their solar power generation due to their capability to achieve 22.8% efficiency in comparison to crystalline silicon (c-SI) wafer-based solar cells. For a production capacity of 1000 MW y^−1 with 15% module efficiency, the CIGS module production cost is expected to be $0.34 W^−1.
The technology used by the company does not only include the CIGS solar panels but also the microcontroller which helps to keep track of the amount of power saved by using solar energy. The website also states that these two solar panels that are installed on the roof of the bus are able to produce a combined 1000 watts.
However, although the panels are able to generate 1000 watts of power, a single-decker bus requires at least _____ to run efficiently. The lack of space on the roof of the bus can be referred to from the dimensions of the bus in Figure 1. and also the physical qualities of the solar panel itself prevent the solar panels from being installed on other parts of the bus other than the roof prevents utilizing the solar energy to generate more power for the bus.
Figure 1. Specification of A22. Adapted from(to be replaced with more accurate version)
Figure 2. Go Ahead solar bus. From Solar panels installed on Go-Ahead buses, 2021, Land Transport Guru. https://landtransportguru.net/solar-panels-go-ahead-buses/ Copyright 2021 by Land Transport Guru
1.3 Problem Statement
Ideally, installing only rooftop-mounted solar panels on public buses without utilizing other limited-available spaces such as the laminated bus windows, could help to reduce carbon emissions and diesel consumption by providing an additional power supply. However, due to the limited amount of space on the roof of the public bus, the amount of carbon emission reduced is limited to 3.7 tonnes per bus per year. (Kok,2021). By replacing the laminated glass on bus windows with photovoltaic glass to harness solar power by utilizing limited-available space on the vehicle in addition to the rooftop-mounted solar panels can help to increase the reduction of carbon emission.
1.4 Purpose statement
The purpose of this report is to illustrate to the bus operators on how the implementation of photovoltaic (PV) glass on public buses can help to reduce the carbon emission produced by buses. The photovoltaic glasses will replace the current laminated glass commonly used by public buses to utilize the idle space to generate solar power. The additional power generated by the PV glass with the existing rooftop-mounted solar panels helps to reduce the buses’ dependence on their diesel engine.
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