Solar Cars: The Oldest Energy Around

With zero emissions, solar cars present a sunnydevelopment stage.
solution to eco-friendly car buyers. It also makes goodAre there any solar cars out there?
sense to develop a green car technology that doesn'tFrench manufacturer Venturi says their solar electric
call for a complicated infrastructure or any type ofAstroLab hybrid concept car yields an improved PV
fueling station. What could be easier than using ancell efficiency level of 21%. It's not exactly a family car
already existing energy source like the Sun, right?with its 2-seat tandem cockpit configuration, but it's one
After all it was around since the beginning of the solarpossibility. The Hungarian manufacturer Antro has
system, well before fossil fuel. If it were only thatdesigned a solar gas-electric hybrid other wise known
simple, we'd probably already have done it. In spite ofas a tribrid scheduled for production in 2012, and Tesla
universities and corporations building solar cars everyMotors has an electric car that can be recharged with
year for the past 20 years for the annual Australiansolar power with 2009 models available in the U.S. and
World Solar Challenge solar car race, we're not quiteEurope. These are only the first advances in solar car
there yet.technology. As time goes on more and more
How do they work?manufacturers will be developing and incorporating
A solar car is really an electric vehicle powered bysome type of solar technology into preexisting
solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) cells in the form ofpropulsion systems. This will create a new sort of
solar panels convert sunlight into electrical energy. Thehybrid, disconnected from fossil fuels, yet still not fully
process generates heat, which is converted intoreliant on the Sun's energy
electrical energy and stored in an on-board battery.Perhaps with the recent high intensity photvoltaic cells
The battery serves the same basic purpose as a gasdesigned by a company in Israel, many of the energy
tank on an internal combustion car.efficiency problems will be taken care of. It is not clear
In spite of the great bounty of sunshine there for thethough if they can be designed for cars.
taking, solar car technology is elusive. The solar electricConclusion
power source needs a lot of PV cells, which areSolar energy and more specifically solar cars would be
expensive, and the efficiency level of PVs is estimatedan amazing advancement in future car technology.
to be only 10% to 15%. These are daunting challengesThey would allow for free travel and nearly unlimited
facing engineers, and it's more likely a hybrid solar withaccessibility. Time will tell if all the problems associated
another fuel source is the only viable option in the nearwith harnessing the world's oldest energy source can
future, yet the concept is intriguing enough forbe dealt with. If the hurdles can be passed then for
engineers inside and outside universities to take a puresure solar cars will be the wave of the future.
solar car prototype into a more advanced