Solar-Powered Car, SolarWorld GT, Visits Florida Solar Energy Center on Driving Tour around Globe
March 15 2012 - 1:11PM
Business Wire
A solar-powered car sponsored by SolarWorld, the largest U.S.
solar manufacturer for more than 35 years, will visit the Florida
Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University
of Central Florida (UCF) in Cocoa, Fla., on March 19.
The SolarWorld GT, a solar-powered car
sponsored by SolarWorld, will circumnavigate the globe and set a
world record for longest solar drive. (Photo: Business Wire)
The visit is the final U.S. stop on the vehicle’s 21,000-mile
quest to circle the globe, propelled only by the sun’s rays. The
SolarWorld Gran Turismo (GT), a collaboration between SolarWorld
and Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany, is a two-seat
sports car powered by roof-integrated solar panels. The GT’s
circumnavigation of the planet, a first for an automobile directly
powered by renewable energy, is expected to set a “Guinness Book of
World Records” record for the longest distance covered by a solar
car.
At 2 p.m. March 19, SolarWorld and the vehicle’s drivers and
crew – the college students who developed and designed the
SolarWorld GT – will host a reception showcasing the vehicle and
awarding one audience member the chance to ride in the SolarWorld
GT. The one-hour event is open to the public and will take place at
the FSEC office at 1679 Clearlake Road in Cocoa.
“The SolarWorld GT is an ambassador for sustainable personal
transportation, reminding us that the power to shift our driving
habits away from dirty fossil fuels is within our grasp,” said
Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas, the company’s
commercial unit based in Camarillo, Calif. “The vehicle’s visit to
FSEC, an esteemed research institute that has been promoting
America’s energy independence for more than 35 years, is especially
fitting. Our organizations have a history of collaboration on solar
projects across the Sunshine State.”
In 2011, FSEC received a grant to administer the SunSmart
Schools Emergency Shelter program, which provides solar energy
systems and educational opportunities to nearly 100 Florida schools
and colleges. At each participating institution, Vergona Bowersox
Engineering is installing SolarWorld solar panels to reduce
electricity costs, serve as generators during power outages and
enhance student learning opportunities related to science and
renewable energy. About half of the installations are complete,
including one at the UCF/Brevard Community College-Cocoa Campus
that is host to the SolarWorld GT exhibition.
The event at FSEC marks the sixth stop on the SolarWorld GT’s
3,774-mile cross-country road trip that originated in California
and will culminate in South Carolina. Previous stops have included
University of California Santa Barbara, SolarWorld’s commercial hub
in Camarillo, Arizona State University in Tempe, Texas Christian
University in Fort Worth and the joint Florida A & M
University-Florida State University College of Engineering in
Tallahassee.
The SolarWorld GT began its trans-world journey in Australia and
New Zealand in October 2011, covering more than 3,100 miles before
shipping to the United States in December. Following the U.S. leg,
the vehicle and its crew will travel through Europe, Africa and
Asia before finishing in Australia in late 2012.
About SolarWorld (www.solarworld-usa.com)
SolarWorld (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in
offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline silicon solar-power
technology. The company’s strength is its fully integrated solar
production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells
and panels all the way to turn-key solar systems of all sizes, the
group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central
business activity is selling high-quality panels into the
installation and distribution trades and wafers to the
international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located
in Bonn, Germany, with sales sites in Singapore, South Africa,
Spain, France as well as in the U.S. state of California. The
group’s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany,
and Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Sustainability is the
basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group
supports community aid projects using off-grid solar-power
solutions in developing countries, exemplifying sustainable
economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs about 3,300
people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since
1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX and ÖkoDAX as
well as in the sustainability index NAI.
About Florida Solar Energy Center
(www.floridaenergycenter.org/en)
The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the
University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active
state-supported energy research institute in the nation. Current
divisions and their research activities include Advanced Energy
Research: alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel and
fuel cells; Buildings Research: energy-efficient buildings; and
Solar Energy: solar water and pool heating and solar electric and
distributed generation systems. For more information about the
center, call the FSEC Public Affairs Office at 321-638-1015.
About University of Central Florida
(http://news.ucf.edu)
The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research
university that ranks as the second largest in the nation with more
than 56,000 students. UCF’s first classes were offered in 1968. The
university offers impressive academic and research environments
that power the region’s economic development. UCF’s culture of
opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment,
history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and
energy.
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