Robert Ceja can drive his Volkswagen Diesel Rabbit 150 miles for only $2.44. Ceja, an Industrial Technology major, founded a club in 2011 that is dedicated to finding ways of creating alternative fuel and energy.

In recent years, the health of the planet and means of finding new resources for transportation have been a scientific focus. Fed by his passion for finding ways to produce energy that doesn’t involve fossil fuels, Ceja started the Bulldog Bio-Fuel Club in 2011.The club focused on creating fuel for cars by purchasing used vegetable oil from a local tortilla chip factory for 65 cents a gallon.

This semester, the club has gone through a transformation by taking on a new goal of creating energy in a different way. With its new title as The Alternative Energy Club of CSU Fresno the group of IT and engineering students have broadened their focus from oil to wind and solar science. The club is in the midst of building its very own solar dish.

Dr. Daming Zang,­ who has a Ph.D. from Iowa State University in aerospace engineering, is the club adviser.

“What I like most about being the Adviser of the Alternative Energy Club is working with a group of brilliant students,” Zhang said. “They are committed, creative and competent. They are the future of our country. I really enjoy working with them.”

Tom Boroujeni, a communication major, also participates in the club as a hobby.

“Our goal is to create something that is marketable,” Boroujeni said. “Solar panels are inefficient. This is inexpensive and if done right, can save a lot of money.”

The dish is made from a used C-band satellite dish Ceja purchased for just $70.

“People don’t use C-bands anymore for communication, and we like them because they are the right shape,”­ Boroujeni said.

Mirrors cover the entire inner side of the dish. Electricity is produced when light reflects off the mirrors and onto a focus point at the center of the dish. Water runs over the focal point (a metal handle that can withstand­ the intense heat) so that the water turns into steam. As the steam follows a high-pressure hose leading into a steam engine, the movement is turned into electricity by a generator.

Ceja explains that what makes this machine so special, is that it “has a remote solar tracking device that allows the dish to track the sun.”

Ceja went on to explain the positives of the machine.

“It’s affordable and the cleanest way to create 100 percent renewable energy,” Ceja said. “[It’s] two times as effective as the regular solar panels seen on house roofs, PV’s or Photovoltaic Panels. [Regular solar panels] convert energy with 15 percent efficiency, while the solar dish has 30 percent efficiency.”

When it comes to durability, the solar dish has a built-in safety feature. Once winds reach up to 40 mph, the dish will rotate to a 90-degree angle, allowing the wind to pass above and below, and­ avoid being knocked down.

Visual information about this project and the power of sunlight, which so many doubt, is available online on the Alternative Energy Club of CSU Fresno Facebook page. The due date for this project will be Vintage Days this year. Zhang, along with Ceja and the rest of the crew, will be showcasing the solar dish around campus.