Solar-powered car arrives in capital
ABU DHABI — The first-ever solar-powered car to tour the world arrived in Abu Dhabi a few days ago. Louis Palmer and his team commenced their pioneering trip from Switzerland to show to the world that solutions to global warming do exist.
'The purpose of this trip is to prove that solar power can work as an alternative source of energy,' declared Palmer.
Palmer's solar taxi is a small, two-seater car, with a long solar trailer attached to it. The vehicle is powered entirely by solar energy, half of it provided by the trailer's solar cells. The remainder is produced, certified and fed into the power grid on the roof of the Swisscom building in Konitz (Germany) and accessed via power sockets en route. Thus, the solar taxi uses electricity from 100 per cent renewable energy and releases no emissions.
The car can reach a maximum of 90kmph and has a range of 400km (with sunshine) and 300km (without sunshine). Without the trailer, powered only by the battery, it can drive up to 200km.
Louis Palmer, who is a school teacher, photographer and writer in Switzerland, developed an interest in solar energy at an early age. When he decided to travel across the world, he discovered that the 'car of a clean future' didn't exist. In 2004, together with a few Swiss universities and companies he designed his solar taxi.
'I call it a taxi because I often take along passengers in the extra seat,' said Palmer.
In 2006, when the solar taxi was finally ready, he started his journey. Accompanied by a conventional vehicle, necessary for carrying everything needed for a trip around the world, the solar taxi left Switzerland on July 3 and headed east, through Germany.
After two and a half months on the road, crossing the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the solar taxi finally arrived in the UAE on September 15 morning. 'The journey was pretty smooth, without any major problem. In Syria there was a small accident when a car hit us from behind. Our solar taxi was fine, but the other car suffered some damage. After that incident, the Syrian police accompanied us until we left the country, making sure that we were safe,' recalled Palmer.
After a short stay in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Palmer will ship the solar taxi to Mumbai in India, where he will resume his journey across the Subcontinent and head for Indonesia, to attend the UN World Climate Conference in December.
Palmer hopes to end the world tour in 14 months, covering at least 50,000km, across 50 countries and five continents.