TAFE SA has a solar-field commitment – having built and raced 2 solar cars: one in
partnership with University of SA, Ned, and Kelly, solely by TAFE SA. Kelly has been
successful in the past, on a limited budget and a dedicated group of volunteers – it is
now time to extend the experiences…
Solar Spirit is new solar car built by TAFE SA with the support of industry which aims to be very competitive in upcoming World Solar Challenge events.
Our earlier vehicle "Kelly" was very successful across a span of ten years in the race field, education and public relations appearances.
'Kelly' was originally constructed as a project to improve on the original vehicle, 'Ned', which was designed and manufactured by the South Australian Solar Car Consortium of Uni SA. 2007 - Kelly entered the Adventure class category:
The 2007 event had 52 entries from 23 countries with Challenge, Adventure and Technology categories.
The Adventure category enables a more flexible approach to vehicle specifications with involvement as an adventure.
Kelly's participation in the World Solar Challenge:
2007: 10th Adventure class
2005: 2nd place in Production class (12th place overall)
2003: 1st place in Production class (8th place overall)
2001: entered/warmup (due to technical difficulties, did not get a placing) Kelly is located, maintained and upgraded at TAFE SA Regency Campus. Regency Campus has been providing Renewable Energy studies since 2002 to licenced electricians and is seeking Business Council of Sustainable Energy (BCSE) accreditation to carry out installation work, as well training for those with a personal interest in this emerging field.
Student research and development projects currently underway include redesigning the steering mechanism, new lightweight wheels and the design and construction of a replacement high efficiency motor controller. Further research is being carried out into the solar panel array as well as the electronic solar optimisers to ensure maximum energy from the sun is captured.Educational Aims of the project are to:
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take science and technology to students to encourage and foster their interest in future developments in alternative energies;
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encourage students to research, design and build vehicles powered by renewable energy;
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ensure that student projects incorporate educational concepts and are able to be competency assessed by the performance of each stage. Competencies link to Certificates II and IV in Electrotechnology, focussing on renewable energy;
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promote alternative/renewable energy to the community and to encourage career decisions towards Electrotechnology related training/employment, particularly to design and manufacture solar, wind, fuel cell or electric vehicles
Regency Campus has been providing Renewable Energy studies since 2002 to licensed electricians seeking Business Council of Sustainable Energy (BCSE) accreditation to carry out installation work, as well as training for those with a personal interest in this emerging field.
Development of appropriate links with industry bodies, in pursuit of/and maintenance of related process and product goals, remain the focus of the Renewable Energy Center at Regency Campus" said Gerry Paay, Educational Manager, Electrical Engineering, TAFE SA Regency Campus.
Promotional activities for the TAFE SA solar car include input to and delivery of seminars, exposure at career open days and Science, Technology and Energy related expos, and specifically in participation in the Challenge.