The flight began and ended in Abu Dhabi; the course ran through China, Hawaii, New York and Egypt, literally encompassing the entire world. Pilot Piccard was very demonstrative with his feelings regarding the successful flight; he reportedly said that he had been working for fifteen years towards this goal, and seeing it finally having been achieved was an extremely special moment. He further stated that this was not just a first in aviation but also in the history of energy.
Technology like the Solar Impulse needs to be invested in. Powered by 17000 solar cells, it is not only making use of a renewable resource like sunlight, but it is also clean and a source of employment for skilled workers. Environmentalists will be pleased to hear that it does not deplete non-renewables like oil and gas and conserves the ecosystem. The objective of flying the plane was not to develop solar-powered planes on a massive scale but to propagate the power of renewable energy.
The Solar Impulse 2 made headlines when it became the first aircraft powered by a renewable energy source to tour the world. The journey took a good 505 days, totalling 26000 miles, but pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg persevered until they managed to land the wonder-vehicle in Abu Dhabi on July 26th 2016.
Piccard stated: ‘The most important thing is not to make world records, but to show what we can do with clean technologies.’
These biofuel mechanisms employ sources such as plant or animal matter instead of oil. They assist in cutting carbon emissions without the expensive mechanical changes. On the other side of the picture, where the grass is not greener, the opportunity cost of growing crops for biofuel instead of consumption should be considered. Global food security could potentially be threatened. As a solution, producers are switching to producing biofuels on land unsuitable for crop production. Also, there is a lot of work to be done to ensure that the processing is cost efficient when compared to fossil fuels.
Additionally, the pilots complained of the on board experience being a gruelling one. The aircraft turned out to be a delicate one; coupled with the poor flying conditions, this made matters worse for the pilots, who had close shaves with death quite a few times during the journey.
Nevertheless, funding is being funnelled for similar projects in the near future. The two pilots announced the launching of an International Committee of Clean Technologies. The NGO will work towards the establishment of green energy and sustainable technologies. There are also plans to create an unmanned solar-powered aircraft, the first prototype of which will be flying in three years.
Kluchit Staff
Neeshay Imran
