Solar Powered Cars & Planes Save Money and the Environment with Alternative Fuel Vehicles

The Practical Solar Car

According to the EPA, about 29 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from the combustion of fossil fuels to transport people and goods. That makes transportation the largest source of the nation’s CO2 emissions.

Solar cars are a long way from being mainstream, but the next best thing is electric vehicles (EV) and EV plug-in hybrids that use both electricity and a gas-powered engine. Charge the car using solar panels from home, like EV expert Christoff Demont-Heinrich, and EVs become the most practical, emissions-free car on the market today. 

Pros & Cons of Driving an Electric Vehicle

Save Your Wallet, Save the Planet with Solar Electric Cars

Replacing gas with less expensive electricity can help keep money in your pocket. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, transportation ranks as most households’ second-largest expense after housing. One of the best things about the EVs and solar cars, Punia and Demont-Heinrich agree, is fuel independence.

Solar Airplanes: The Future of Flight?

If you follow technology in the news you may have caught sight of the Solar Impulse, or more likely the upgraded Solar Impulse 2, a specially designed aircraft powered entirely by solar energy. Designed and developed out of Switzerland, both craft essentially resemble long rulers with propellers, and are designed to be the first solar airplanes capable of flying at long distances (even at night) due to their ability to capture and store energy in onboard batteries.

While the Solar Impulse project and others such as NASA’s unmanned “Helios” craft represent a leap forward in solar tech as applied to aviation, it is tempting to envision a world where we can all travel by air and no longer be tied to fossil fuels and the pollution it leaves in our skies. By one estimate, global air travel accounts for 2.5 percent of all global combustion-related carbon emissions. And with overall aircraft emissions projected to rise by 70 percent between 2005 and 2020, the impetus for a solar-powered air industry would seem apparent. But for those of us hoping to take our first flight on a solar-powered airliner, there are major limitations to the technology that will likely keep these hopes forever in the realm of wishful thinking.

What allows a plane to fly at all is a force called “lift,” which is generated by getting enough air to flow both over and under its own wings. Lift is what allows a plane to overcome the force of its own weight and remain aloft, and is created and sustained through the continuous forward motion of its wings through the air. In order to lift more weight, a plane has to go faster. In order to go faster, a plane has to have more power, which is where solar energy ultimately falls short.

Because of this low speed capability, the Solar Impulse 2 has to weigh little more than an average-sized pickup truck, and can carry only one person. In stark contrast, the relatively massive jet engines on a typical Boeing 737 allow it to cruise along at 530 miles per hour, which in turn allows it the lifting ability to carry more than 120 passengers and their associated cargo.

This power and speed limitation, more than any other factor, is the reason why solar technology as it currently stands cannot afford us a solution to the environmental problems associated with air travel. Solar powered engines cannot produce the kind of speed necessary to lift sizable groups of people through the air, and simply adding more solar panels would only add more weight and thus compound the problem. Until these challenges can be resolved, solar tech’s biggest promise in aviation will likely be tied to lighter craft, namely unmanned aerial vehicles, designated for purposes in which longer flight times and slower speeds are more practical.

Cars, Planes and the Environment

The transportation sector makes life as we know it possible. Personal vehicles and large trucks, public transportation, airplanes, freight trains, ships and barges all burn gasoline and other fossil fuels. It is no wonder then that transportation is the source of 29 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Emitting significant amounts of CO2 into the air is contributing to climate change and it is critical now for the U.S., one of the world’s top CO2 emitters, to take actions that reduce vehicle emissions and the nation’s dependence on oil. As the demand for transportation increases in the coming years, the need to replace gasoline-powered engines with clean, renewable energy will become increasingly important. By using EVs that emit far less or even zero emissions, the U.S. can help make a true impact on climate change.