Facilities Management helped Engineering students install photovoltaic panels, which convert solar energy into electricity. Photo courtesy University Relations.

University students and faculty installed photovoltaic panels Tuesday on the roof of a bus kiosk next to the Emmet/Ivy Parking Garage. The panels convert solar energy into electricity and will be used to power a car that the group had earlier changed to run on electricity.

The installment is a result of “RideForward,” a multidisciplinary student project within the Engineering School that was spearheaded by Jim Durand, a mechanical and aerospace engineering adjunct professor and research associate, two years ago as a part of a class he taught.

After converting a 1994 Honda Accord into an electric-powered car at the beginning of the fall 2009 semester, Durand’s students were required to design, engineer and plan a system to use solar power with electric power for the car using photovoltaic panels, Durand said.

“The photovoltaic panels will produce power whenever [they] can, meaning when it is sunny and [they] will deposit the power into the U.Va. electricity system, which will reduce overall electrical cost,” by a very small fraction, he said. “When the car needs to be charged, we plug it into the outlet in the garage — so the car really is indirectly powered by the panels.”

Using solar energy to create electricity is advantageous because it reduces the amount of emissions produced by electric cars, Durand said. Even though these cars do not emit any greenhouse gases when in motion, they often indirectly produce emissions when they are charged, he said.

These emissions occur because the electricity used to charge the car most likely was created by the burning of coal, a process that emits greenhouse gases, he said.

“Electricity is produced by a variety of different sources; 75 percent comes from coal,” Durand said.

By contrast, the photovoltaic panels do not emit any greenhouse gases when they convert solar energy to electric energy. About 43 percent of the car’s electricity will come from this new energy source.

“An electric car running on electricity only from solar energy would create a truly sustainable solution,” he said.

This search for sustainability always has been one of RideForward’s goals. Each year, students who participate in the program are expected to convert a gas-powered car into an electric one and then to incorporate some form of alternative energy into the project.

The 2009-10 group obtained the necessary sum of $3,000 for the six photovoltaic panels in the fall and ordered them in December. Facilities Management, who donated both materials and time for the installation, now is finalizing the installation of the recently placed panels.

Parking & Transportation also has a stake in the project, as it will use the car to transport supporting employees from Information Technology and Communication.

The car can run for about 120 miles between charges and likely will use about 3,100 kilowatts of electricity if it is driven about 5,600 miles in a year, said Cheryl Gomez, director of energy and utilities.

Durand’s long-term goal, though, reaches beyond using alternative energy to power this 1994 Accord, as he hopes RideForward will evolve into a business project for creating electric cars powered by alternative energy. The project could become more multidisciplinary, he said, by involving Commerce students, who can help with getting the business side of the operation off the ground.

Eventually, the project may help researchers to realize the full potential of sustainability efforts in the local community, as well, Gomez said.

“This is an exciting opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of power generation in the Charlottesville area for solar cells,” he said. “We plan to physically measure the [kilowatt-hours] generated by the solar cells. This will provide excellent information on the viability of this technology here in Charlottesville.”