Photo from the Solar Impulse Flickr page.

Solar-powered flight becomes reality

A solar-powered plane with the wingspan of a Jumbo Jet, weighing no more than a family car, has today landed in Japan on its way to Hawaii. Solar Impulse is a first in aviation history, has already broken records for staying in the air – and although we’re still a long way from replacing current passenger planes with solar-powered ones, this is an amazing, pioneeringly innovative step in the right direction of a clean, renewable energy future. HOT’s Zelly Restorick spreads the word about alternative energy sources that are clean and sustainable.

A little while ago, I read about planes partially fuelled in the war by potatoes! Now, in the 21st century, we have solar flight as a reality rather than a science fiction dream. How brilliant it is to hear about innovators and pioneers using their brains to produce amazing technology that isn’t only for profit, but has a wider, more thoughtful goal. Listening to an interview with the team, I liked hearing that one of their goals is to “…reduce the amount of energy all of us waste every day”. (We CAN all make a difference.) This seems to me to be one of the central keys to cutting energy bills and using our limited resources more wisely.

Let the people behind the project introduce themselves: “Swiss explorers, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, are the founders, pilots and driving force behind Solar Impulse, the first airplane of perpetual endurance, able to fly day and night without a drop of fuel. By attempting the first round-the-world solar flight, they want to demonstrate that clean technologies and renewable energies can achieve the apparently impossible. For the Solar Impulse team, pioneering spirit and innovation can change the world.

“The round-the-world flight started from Abu Dhabi, on March 9. The route includes stop-overs in Oman, India, Myanmar and China. After trying to cross the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, Si2 should fly across the USA. and over the Atlantic Ocean, heading back to Abu Dhabi.”

And this technology offers insights for lighting, insulation and a whole range of energy-efficient products.

Read about their story here – and explore their site. Join their clean energy for the future campaign The Future Is Clean: A global movement for clean technologies, sign their ‘I want concrete actions for a clean future’ campaign aimed at the UN Climate Conference (COP21) – and maybe, if you’re inspired to wholeheartedly join in, win a flight to Abu Dhabi!

“Concrete Actions For a Cleaner Future.”

LOVING LOVING LOVING IT!

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