Writer: Minal Jain

In our previous article “Honey, I shrunk the batteries!”, we spoke about Solar batteries. One excellent use of such batteries is being made by The Tindo! The Tindo, as they are fondly called, are buses in Adelaide, Australia that run on Solar power. The buses themselves do not have Solar Panels on them but they run on Solar batteries that are charged at the Adelaide bus station, before they set out on their respective routes. These buses can cover up to 200 km before the battery is drained. The Tindo generates zero emission, unlike gas-powered and hybrid fleets, and helps reduce carbon emissions.

But why stop at buses, why not bus stations as well. At the Waterloo Bridge bus station in the UK, the advertising panels are lit up by the energy produced by the solar panels, installed on top of the bus stations.

Moving on from buses, we have the Tûranor PlanetSolar, a boat that uses zero litres of gasoline and causes zero CO2 emissions. It relies on 537 m2 of solar panels and the energy produced can keep the boat going for up to 72 hours.

The name Tûranor, derived from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel “The Lord of the Rings”, translates to "The Power of the Sun". The Tûranor PlanetSolar broke two records: the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by solar boat and the longest distance ever covered by a solar electric vehicle.

With so many ships ploughing the Hong Kong seas, our own local project like that could be very beneficial to our local environment. Fancy taking a ride someday, on a Solar Ferry between Central and Lamma?

If you prefer something more independent and individual, there is the Ebike. Electric-bicycles or Ebikes are bicycles with a battery-powered “assist” that comes via pedalling. When you push the pedals on a pedal-assist e-bike, a small motor engages and gives you a boost, so you can zip up hills and cruise over tough terrain without gassing yourself. Where there is a battery to charge your bike, there is a potential to use Solar power to charge those batteries.

There are many different versions of Solar Powered Ebikes. While some have solar systems installed in their wheels, others are less fancy and carry an entire solar panel on their back. But each of them claims to provide enough power to carry you over 30 to 40 km.

Sources:
https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/news/the-solar-powered-e-bike-with-unlimited-range-2267
https://www.bicycling.com/skills-tips/a20044021/13-things-about-e-bikes/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BBranor_PlanetSolar
https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2015/01/solar-energy-in-transportation

Image Sources:
https://gearjunkie.com/triple-shocks-wheel-suspension-mountain-bike
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34520752@N07/5789837884/
https://www.engadget.com/2016-09-24-six-sun-powered-ships.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAD7RcRqeoiPPYkW-zqyv4Yslofq7dDwfZVdP3ny35NkY1PTnStBFgGzi7GnSQpZvWZCsS4UQfyLXULNW3MtS6r6DuehAd34vmKF9DzJqoEmj3RiKXToc3k-WO2OjFVLpy073qWXp1IaunnzvUUNLHcGX1ZoZAZSyBz8WEjk5oKvy

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