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PNM Donation to Help Power Solar Car

December 4, 2009

The Public Service Company of New Mexico has donated $25,000 to the Solar Car team at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the UNM School of Engineering. The money will be used to buy electrical components for the car.

Photo: 2009-2010 UNM Solar Race Car Team

Research Assistant Professor Olga Lavrova is mentoring 10 students as they raise money and design a car they hope to race cross country next summer. She says the students will design similar systems to the ones that are now used in some commercial electrical hybrids.

Lavrova says the students will be competing with 20 to 40 teams from other universities in a combination racetrack-cross country event. It will begin on the Texas Motor Speedway then will travel cross country from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Chicago, Illinois.

This is the second solar car team that UNM has fielded. They are hoping to raise another $30,000 so that all the members of the team can travel to the race.

More details can be found here.