A Solar Powered Flight around the World

Solar power seems to be at the forefront of the research and development at many companies. Solar powered products are flooding the marketplace with increasing frequency, allowing us the options of solar garage doors, street lights, gadget chargers and more. But yet, there is still the belief that a world that could be powered by alternative energy is pretty far off. While it is agreed that renewable energy can play a part in a cleaner, greener world, most don't think that it can be the biggest part of our energy equation. They believe that there are certain parts of our lifestyles that just simply can't be greened and that there isn't the potential for alternative energy to provide the level of power that coal, natural gas, and oil currently do.

Much of this is public relations from industries that are dependent, reliant or directly related to fossil fuels. But the solar dream is not likely to be as far off or as farfetched as previously thought. If one can create a clean, solar powered plane - something considered to be about as far from green as you can get - then there is a lot of hope for the future of solar power in more applications and used on a larger scale. Researchers at a Swiss institute of technology have not only developed (and even flown) a prototype plane that runs entirely on solar power, they are planning to partake in the first flight around the world, fueled by nothing but solar power, in 2014.

Bertrand Piccard, one of the main forces behind the project called Solar Impulse, has already made history with the all solar plane. In 2010, a Solar Impulse plane completed its first 26-hour flight (including flying overnight) using only solar power. The plane is comprised of photovoltaic panels as well as lithium polymer batteries used to store the solar power for the plane. The plane is designed to be efficient and lightweight, thus requiring less energy to fly. While the Solar Impulse is still in its prototype phase, these innovations in solar technology show that solar power can be for real. There are many applications that can be powered by solar technology that were previously thought to be beyond the reach of renewable energy. Much still needs to be learned and there will need to be much improvement to the technology before it can be feasibly used in a commercial application, but the potential is there.

 Chris Keenan is a green and general blog writer. He writes for many sites including Precision Garage Door. Chris also maintains a personal house repair blog.