Solar Impulse achieves historic ‘energy’ feat

History was made early Tuesday when Solar Impulse 2 completed its historic round-the-world journey, becoming the first solar-powered airplane to circle the globe, with the aim to promote renewable energy. The selection of Abu Dhabi to be the launch-pad and the final leg of the epic odyssey wasn’t coincidental as the capital has been the centrestage of clean energy.
Cheers and applause broke out as the plane touched down before dawn in Abu Dhabi after the marathon trip which began on March 9 last year.
The aircraft has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 747 and carries more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings. During daylight, the solar panels charged the plane’s batteries, which make up a quarter of the plane’s 2.3 tonne weight. It climbed to 29,000 feet during the day and glided down to 5,000 feet at night, to conserve power. The plane flies at about 30mph, although it can go faster if the sun is bright.
Bertrand Piccard alternated with André Borschberg to fly the 16 legs of the journey, spending up to five days in the unheated and unpressurised cabin, taking only short naps and with the single seat doubling up as a toilet.
Borschberg flew the longest leg — 4,000 miles over the Pacific from Japan to Hawaii, smashing the record for the longest uninterrupted journey in aviation history.
Swiss explorer and project director Piccard was in the cockpit during the more than 48-hour flight from Cairo, crossing the Red Sea, the vast Saudi desert and flying over the Gulf. It capped a remarkable 43,000-kilometre journey across four continents, two oceans and three seas, accomplished in 23 days of flying without a drop of fuel.
“The future is clean, the future is you, the future is now, let’s take it further. One thing I would like for you to remember: More than an achievement in the history of aviation, Solar Impulse has made an achievement in the history of energy,” Piccard said as he disembarked.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region, congratulated the UAE leadership for the successful circumnavigation of the globe by Solar Impulse 2 and safe return to Abu Dhabi.
He added that the landmark journey provides a new testimony of how clean renewable energy technologies are efficient enough to build a more sustainable future.
Ahead of the historic landing, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised the team: “My deepest admiration and respect for your courage. This is a historic day, not only for you but for humanity.”
“We have now just watched our shared dream unveil, becoming a reality” the Solar Impulse team said in a blog post. “Emotions, tears, relief, exhilaration are what we are all feeling right now after completing the first Round-the-World solar flight in history.”
Solar Impulse 2 flew over countries where Masdar projects are already demonstrating the potential of renewable energy to extend energy access,
reduce carbon emissions and diversify the energy mix.
The aim of the Solar Impulse adventure was not to develop solar-powered planes for widespread use, but to show the capabilities of renewable energy. This demonstration has been won. Time for renewable energy is now!