Solar Taxi stops at Monash

1 April 2008

In a bid to prove to the world that everyone should take a stand and do something to save the earth from global warming, Swiss school teacher Louise Palmer and his team decided to set on a journey around the world in his Solar Taxi. The Solar Taxi which departed from Switzerland, is in Kuala Lumpur and made a pit stop at Monash University Sunway campus.

The solar powered vehicle attracted the attention of students and staff members of the university from the moment it arrived. After more than half an hour being on display, Mr Palmer gave a talk about his journey, what prompted him to begin the mission as well as answer questions from those who were present.

He stressed on the fact that global warming is indeed a terrible reality and that everyone should stop talking about what they could or should do but be proactive and put their words into action and do something about it.

“Admittedly, as a regular citizen I cannot change the world but I can demonstrate just how dire the global climate situation has become and how many sophisticated solutions to lower the greenhouse gases already exist, which bring with them many other advantages.”

“The solar taxi should rekindle hope and a zest for life, set an example to counteract resignation and stimulate reflection. And show that every single one of us can take a step towards preserving our planet.”

The Solar Taxi is on a mission to go to 40 countries and has already marked the halfway of its journey and clocked up 21,772 kilometers. From Switzerland, the Solar Taxi made its way to Turkey across into Asia and the Middle East, India, New Zealand and Australia. It even made an appearance in Bali for the United Nations World Climate Conference. Some of its famous passengers include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bianca Jagger!

The 500kg car comes with a 250kg trailer carrying solar panels and is capable of reaching a maximum speed of 90 kilometer per hour. It can travel up to a distance of 400 kilometers when it is with the trailer and 200 kilometers without it. Only 8 kilowatts of electricity is needed to power the Solar Taxi for a hundred kilometers which is equivalent to 0.8 liters of petrol for a small car. The best thing about the Solar Taxi is that it emits zero carbon dioxide.

“If all cars in Switzerland are solar powered electric cars, an upsurge of only four percent of electricity will be used but on the flipside, carbon dioxide emission will go down by 40 percent. So just imagine if all the cars in the whole world were powered by electricity!”

The Solar Taxi was developed by a four Swiss technical universities and is sponsored by Q-Cells, the largest independent solar cell producer in the world - By Anita Hadi