Originally published July 31 2005
Solar car race reveals pros and cons of the technology
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Teams from Stanford, UC Berkeley and more than 20 other universities and colleges gathered for the North American Solar Challenge, a 2,500-mile race from Austin, Texas to Calgary, Alberta. While racers were excited to prove the effectiveness of this sustainable energy, the weather forecast put a damper on the initial excitement. Rain and clouds mean that the cars would have to depend on the power stored in their batteries, making the initial take-off slow.
As she and her Stanford University teammates prepared for the longest solar car race in the world, mechanical engineering student Carrie Bobier looked into the Texas sky Thursday and saw the biggest downpour of her life.
"All the cells would break if we left the cars out," Bobier said in a telephone interview.
But teams from Stanford, UC Berkeley and more than 20 other universities and colleges moved quickly, keeping their cars safe so they can participate in the North American Solar Challenge, a 2,500-mile race that starts Sunday morning in Austin and ends July 27 in Calgary, Alberta.
This is the first time the race, generally held every two years since 1990, is crossing an international border; the 2001 and 2003 races went along Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles.
As of Friday, the National Weather Service was forecasting a slight chance of thunderstorms for Sunday in Austin, meaning the cars might have to depend temporarily on the solar energy stored in their batteries.
Race official Dorian West, who started getting involved in the race as a competitor with Stanford in 1993, said the cars and the competition had evolved dramatically.
"The limitations are now the speed limits on the road."
Some of the solar-powered cars can go as fast as 75 mph, but the race restricts them to 65 mph or the posted speed limit, whatever is less, he said.
Now, West does pre-race "scrutineering," inspecting cars to make sure they meet the challenge's standards, then works at checkpoints that the vehicles pass through during the race.
The winner, the University of Missouri-Rolla, went through the course in slightly under 52 hours -- about twice as fast as the local teams.
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