Solar-Powered Car Finishes Trip Around the World

Louis Palmer, a 36-year-old Swiss school teacher, has completed the first journey around the world in a solar-powered car, arriving at the United Nations on Thursday in the middle of talks on climate change.

Palmer drove the two-seater hauling a trailer of solar cells 32,000 miles in a trip that took him through 38 countries in 17 months. He wanted to prove that renewable technologies like solar power were ready for commercialization, in an effort to scale back the greenhouse gases wreaking havoc on the world's climate.

While Palmer's goal is admirable and his trip impressive, his car hardly proves that solar-powered cars are ready to hit garages across the globe. Developed by scientists at Swiss universities, his car can travel up to 55 mph and has a 185-mile range when the battery is fully charged. Extended night driving is obviously out of the question.

Trips like Palmer's demonstrate that the technology exists, but the next step is to get it into cars that people can use in their day-to-day lives. Plus, it doesn't look all that comfortable, either.

Solar Car Completes First Ever Round-the-World Trip (USA Today)

Comments

i have recently read that san francisco is making a big push towards hybrid cars, investing a large sum of money into the project. also, colorado and doing something similar.