Here is an example of a Visionary - Naveen Rabelli from Project Tejas wants to travel from Bangalore to London on his Tuk-tuk (the Indian auto for carrying luggage). The Tuk-tuk has been remodeled to run on electric batteries and all he needs to do is, attach solar panels behind his auto and his solar auto is ready! Of course, he may not be able to run with solar power alone. He might also need to recharge his batteries using the electric grid, but 30% of the energy required for the trip is expected to come from solar panels. That's still cool, don't you think?
The total journey is around 8800 KM and he hopes to complete it within 90-100 days. Some permissions are required to drive this in India, and of course visas need to be obtained from countries which he will cross by road. What's a better time than summer to start a solar trip? Project Tejas will most probably commence this summer, if everything goes on schedule and sponsorship is in place. If you are a renewable energy company, you could consider sponsoring this initiative.
Read more about Project Tejas from Yourstory.in page.
The point we need to note from this initiative is, solar-powered vehicles can become a reality today and very shortly they will become more economical/more efficient than vehicles run using conventional sources of energy and even grid-power. It's high-time we start taking solar vehicles seriously and demand companies to supply them to us. Only if there is demand from the public, manufacturers will fall in line. There is even a Government policy to promote electric vehicles in India.
There is one big advantage we have in (most parts of) India - We have sun shining brightly almost throughout the year. All that is free energy, which we are currently not utilizing, despite having the technology in place. Why should we depend on the Government when we can produce our own energy? Why should we be shocked every time there is an increase in petrol and diesel prices? Why should we have to go through daily power-cuts when the sun is shining brightly, just outside?
Of course electric cars have their own advantages and limitations. But, only if we set the right goals today, we can hope for a pollution free tomorrow and benefit from the free solar energy available to us in abundance.
If people want it, half of all our cars in cities will be solar cars by 2020. Well, why not?
