modern solar-powered vehicles


Sunny day for a drive

Imagine never having to fill your fuel tank again. With the cost of gas these days, that may sound like wishful thinking. But as solar technology becomes more advanced, that dream could soon become a reality.

In fact, vehicles that run entirely on solar power are nothing new; the first solar vehicles were built in the 1950s. Those early models weren't very practical, but modern designs have made impressive progress.

Solar milestones have been made for just about every form of transportation that you can imagine. There are solar cars, of course, but there are also solar buses, trains, boats, and even a solar helicopter. Here's our rundown of seven modern solar-powered vehicles.


Solar cars


Solar car design has become something of a competitive sport among engineers. In fact, most solar cars today are built for the purpose of solar car races. The competitive nature of these races has led to a rapid boom in performance, leading to the need for new safety regulations. For instance, one of the largest solar car races, the World Solar Challenge, instituted speed limits for the first time in 2007. Regulations aside, solar cars today can easily surpass the legal speed limit.

The major barrier to solar cars’ availability to the average consumer is that they still require a large surface area for the placement of PV panels. They must also be made extremely lightweight for maximum energy efficiency, which means little room for storage compartments, or often even a passenger seat.

Even so, as PV technology advances, solar cars are creeping ever-closer to feasibility for the average commuter.

Turanor Planetsolar


Sailboats, which have been used for millennia, might be the most widely employed form of fuel-free transportation. It is probably no surprise that the solar boat was developed out of that tradition.

Perhaps the most decorated solar boat is the Turanor Planetsolar, which became the first solar electric vehicle to circumnavigate the globe in 2012. PV panels cover a surface area of more than 500 square meters, and the boat can carry a crew of as many as 60. Though its average speed is around 5 knots, it is capable of reaching 14 knots.

Since claiming its title as the first solar vehicle to circumnavigate the globe, the ship has been commissioned as a scientific research vessel. It is currently cruising the Gulf Stream to study the role of atmospheric aerosols and phytoplankton in regulating climate.


solar impulse


The ground-breaking Solar Impulse became the first solar-powered plane to make a cross-country trip across the United States earlier this year, despite a dramatic early landing due to damage to one of its wings. The five-leg journey from San Francisco to New York was a test run for a far more ambitious journey scheduled for 2015, when the vehicle is set to become the first solar plane to circumnavigate the globe.

Solar Impulse is capable of taking off and landing entirely on its own, and is capable of flying at night. It has a cruising speed of around 40 mph and has a maximum altitude of about 39,000 feet!


Solarcopter


Yes, even helicopter design is getting in on the solar power boom. Enter the Solarcopter, the world's first solar-powered quadcopter.

The Solarcopter is also proof that professional-level solar design has entered the realm of DIY; the project has been built entirely by students at Queen Mary University in London. Though it is not designed for passenger flight, its inventors think it could be the future of drone technology.

The prototype can only sustain short flights, but future versions could be used for surveillance, search and rescue, or perhaps for tracking animal migrations.

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