Introduction
Solar energy is an increasingly valuable resource. From residential solar panels to large-scale photovoltaic arrays and everything in between, the sun’s power is becoming more accessible than ever before. According to Charles Kirkland, this has led researchers to ask whether solar could be used as a viable source of transportation fuel. While many projects are still in their infancy, some have already taken off. For example, Solar Impulse 2 recently completed its round-the-world trip using only solar energy—and it wasn’t even close to being the first plane powered by sunlight! In this article we’ll take a look at some of these projects, how they work, and what they mean for the future of clean transportation around the world
Solar Planes
Solar planes are an exciting new frontier in solar aviation. The technology, which has been around since the 1930s, is finally becoming more mainstream. Solar planes have long been used for research purposes and unmanned missions but now they’re being used as a viable means of transportation with companies like Solar Impulse 2 and NASA’s Helios Prototype.
These solar-powered vehicles use sunlight as their only source of power – no fossil fuels involved at all! They can fly for days without needing to land or refuel, making them ideal for long distance flights over oceans where there aren’t any airports nearby (and even then they can still land on water).
Solar-Powered Cars
Solar-powered cars, like the Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf, are a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. In addition to being environmentally friendly and helping save the planet, these vehicles also offer a number of other benefits.
- You’ll save money on fuel costs! Solar panels generate electricity that can be used by an electric car’s battery pack–so you don’t have to pay for gas or diesel. This means that once all costs are factored in (including maintenance), using solar power will save you thousands over years of driving compared with traditional cars powered by fossil fuels like gasoline or diesel fuel.*
Solar-Powered Buses
Buses are a great way to get around. They’re efficient, they reduce congestion and they help people get where they need to go quickly. But what if there was a way for buses to run on solar power? That would be even better! Well, it turns out that there already is such a thing: solar-powered buses.
Solar-powered buses have many benefits over traditional fuel-powered vehicles–they’re quieter, healthier and more sustainable than gasoline engines; they don’t emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere or contribute as much pollution into urban areas (reducing asthma rates).
Solar-Powered Trains
Trains are the most energy-efficient mode of transportation, and solar-powered trains can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Trains carry people and cargo from one place to another, which means they’re used for both personal and commercial purposes. They can transport passengers from their homes to work every day or carry goods across country borders.
Trains have been around since the 1800s when steam engines first started being used as locomotives on tracks that were laid out next to rivers or lakes so that water could be used as an energy source for powering them at first before eventually switching over completely toward electricity later on down through history until today’s diesel electric engines are what we see most often traveling along rail lines around our planet today!
Conclusion
The future of solar-powered transportation is looking bright, and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
