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Solar Powered Car Attempts to Circle Globe as Slowly as Possible
Posted by Jack Loftus at 2:30 AM on September 8, 2008
Another day, another golf cart size, three-wheeled solar-powered car with style ripped from the 1980's. At least with this one, the Solar Taxi, there's a record at stake, as Swiss "adventurer" Louis Palmer is taking the car on a trip across the planet without using a drop of gasoline. He'll be the first to do it, and we're hoping his example will inspire more alternative energy cars (hopefully a few have that elusive fourth wheel). The 56kph top speed is going to be a tough sell with us Yanks. Palmer, my man, haven't you heard? Women and men alike get hot and bothered by power and speed.
The Solar Taxi gets its juice from a US$5,000 solar panel trailer provided by German company Q-Cells. Weather permitting, the trailer provides the Taxi with 100km of oompf. Longer runs are powered by a pair of US$15,000 115kg recyclable batteries from Zebra Battery. They store energy from the sun and from whatever electrical socket Palmer can find at night (it's just like searching for a socket at a conference, but bigger, and people will still manage to trip awkwardly over the cord).
Altogether, Palmer said the rig gets about a 320km range between charges. As of this weekend, Palmer and his crew had travelled 43,500km across 28 countries, so that's a lot of stop and go driving—or is that charging?
The trip is scheduled to conclude in December, but Palmer won't be finished just yet. He's also in the middle of planning an 80-day solar powered race around the world for sometime in 2009. [ABC News]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Adam
Posted September 8, 2008 9:25 PM
I've actually seen the solartaxi and Louis in person while they cruised through Perth and put aside all the greenie stuff, the story behind the car is interesting and inspiring indeed. They stopped-by for a presentation to a few of engineers and designers while here. In fact it was very shameful to hear that they got no recognition and publicity while they were in Australia, which is a disgrace, even a local tv interview got screwed up and (the media) turned up late without a camera crew! All the best for the solartaxi crew for not using a drop of filthy, nasty oil from those bastard oil companies :)
craig_16
Posted 2:50 AM 8/9/08
An impressive feat, but charging the car off the grid is still using up those precious fossil fuels. Then agan, doing it purely off solar power would probably take him years.
craig_16
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
Posted 2:48 AM 8/9/08
I hate to ask, but how does it get from country to country? Solar powered sailboat? While the machine might not use gasoline, I'm guessing that getting it from place to place does. Electric cars will only catch on when someone makes them sound good. And by sound good, I mean the cars themselves. Make them sound like a big block chevy, the space shuttle taking off, or an f-16 doing a "fly by", and people will by them.
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
Mandatory_Field
Posted 3:06 AM 8/9/08
Hope he doesn't hit the Indian sub-continent during monsoon season....
Mandatory_Field
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
Posted 3:04 AM 8/9/08
@PlayerX: I always thought people did this to get around safety restrictions. If it's three wheeled, isn't it a motorcycle?
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
xicofixas
Posted 3:03 AM 8/9/08
i had built on of those, to participate on shell eco marathon
xicofixas
PlayerX
Posted 3:02 AM 8/9/08
Betcha it's a 3-wheeler because a fourth would cause too much drag to be very efficient.
PlayerX
Stang70Fastback
Posted 3:25 AM 8/9/08
Why does it look like they could have made that thing a lot lighter without spending much more... (does it need such big, thick, heavy wheels and tires if it's just going to go 35 MPH?)
Stang70Fastback
xicofixas
Posted 3:55 AM 8/9/08
@Stang70Fastback:
the wheels are used for safety, road rules, etc
xicofixas
Picklesworth
Posted 4:27 AM 8/9/08
"An impressive feat, but charging the car off the grid is still using up those precious fossil fuels. Then agan, doing it purely off solar power would probably take him years"
That depends on which grid you are using. Mine uses a lot of hydro with (soon) a bit of wind. Big power plants are very specialized and much better regulated than gas engines in cars, so I have trust in them being as environmentally sound as possible. The power lines are a fantastic transport medium because the source of the power is totally abstracted. For example, you can't get a nuclear fission powered car.
Picklesworth
Sticky230
Posted 5:18 AM 8/9/08
15 minutes of fame. Where are mine?
Sticky230
Justifan
Posted 7:15 PM 8/9/08
i dunno, the batteries and charging from plugs is just cheating.
Justifan
hagrun
Posted 11:58 PM 8/9/08
How's the car going to handle the oceans in the middle of the trip?
hagrun
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
Posted 12:46 AM 9/9/08
@hagrun: Solar powered sailboat. Only way to do it w/no gasoline.
Git Em SteveDave is starlost
DavinAmycus
Posted 9:42 AM 9/9/08
Am I the only person who remembers magelllan?
DavinAmycus
Rogbog4299
Posted 11:01 AM 8/9/08
For $5,000 you can get a golf cart size, three-wheeled solar-powered car with style ripped from the 1980's!! I want more. Come on! I want more. Solar Taxi. Going slow and slow. Count me out. No thanks.
Rogbog4299
Pretolo
Posted 5:05 AM 8/9/08
The reason why THREE wheels is not particularly for aerodynamic reason (although that's true as well), but because on 3 wheels it's a MOTORCYCLE, which is a lot easier to register with no regard for safety regulations (headlight location, bumpers, etc.) Putting another wheel automatically puts it in the AUTOMOBILE category and many more registering hurdles that come with it.
Pretolo
Valicore
Posted 4:13 AM 8/9/08
If it's only three wheels it's a tricycle...
Valicore
The_Bronze
Posted 1:38 AM 9/9/08
The car hooks up to a $20,000 boat attachment that uses motive power from the wheels to move a large plastic paddle. You know, just like the ones at the park!
The_Bronze
Shnyzx
Posted 10:09 PM 10/9/08
I remember magellen but he apparently used deisel powered fans to push his sails. (or you could just claim it doesn't count because he died 3/4ths of the way)
Shnyzx