Solar-Powered Cars: Futuristic Dream or Unrealistic Ambition?

The only logical way to go forward to clean transportation is electric vehicles. Adopting EVs and powering them through energy produced by solar panels that is transmitted through the utility grid or a structure nearby.

January 06, 2025. By News Bureau

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Solar-powered cars, which often find portrayals in futuristic movies, are they practical enough to find a place in the real world? Has such a car been made or attempted by any person or a company? The first known solar car was a 15-inch vehicle invented in 1955 by a General Motors employee. Even after decades of trials and tribulations, we still don’t have a viable model selling in the commercial market.

The concept of solar cars is quite cool; they look aesthetically pleasing. Solar cells are integrated into the vehicle’s bodies and are arranged geometrically for maximum absorption of solar irradiance. The absorbed sunlight is turned into electrical energy and then into mechanical energy.

Such a vehicle would eliminate the need to stop and refuel. Powering cars using solar is like free fuel from the sky. One possibility is a solar structure unfurling above the car’s surface, so the area available for incidence is much more than the surface area available on the surface area of the vehicle.

Traditional panels cannot be integrated into cars, but for the sake of calculations, we will assume our conventional panels. On average, one can expect generation of 250 to 400 watts per hour per panel. An average car has a maximum of 100 sq. ft. area available for solar incidence. So theoretically speaking, the car could roughly accommodate 5 solar panels. Assuming a window of 6 hrs of charging in a day, the car could produce 400 watts x 5 panels x 6 hours = 12000 Wh or 12 kWh.

The mileage of an average car is approximately 3 miles per kWh or 5 km per kWh. Hence, the maximum distance the solar car can travel is 60 km. So are solar vehicles impractical?

The World Solar Energy Challenge is held in Australia every 2 years; it is a 3000 km race with cars using only the Sun’s energy. These race cars are designed to run on solar energy. Currently, this concept is not feasible for commercial vehicles. These race cars are not durable for commercial versions. Moreover, mass-producing such vehicles is difficult.

So cars, designed for a pre-defined distance to cover, and a battery pack assistance make them viable. Solar race cars are also aided by a lithium-ion battery. A mileage of 60 km/day would probably not suffice for a significant chunk of the population.

The only logical way to go forward to clean transportation is electric vehicles. Adopting EVs and powering them through energy produced by solar panels that is transmitted through the utility grid or a structure nearby. It is an epitome of smart design, coupled with sustainable living standards. Solar carports/canopies made out of bifacial solar panels. Such a solar structure not only provides shelter but also generates electricity. It is an efficient way to use land and also increases the property value.

Just mere solutions to a problem do not suffice; they should be practical, implementable, and affordable. Concept creation in a lab is significantly different from making a real change in the world.

- Ravi Kumar, VP- Sales at Oorjan Cleantech Private Limited