The push for solar energy takes flight

Politics and economics held sway in the headlines in recent days, all but eclipsing a truly historic achievement that should not be overlooked. The experimental solar-powered aeroplane Solar Impulse 2 completed the first-ever crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an aircraft using only clean, renewable energy. 

The world is still a long, long way from weaning itself off oil, but the ocean crossing was a huge step nonetheless, demonstrating as it did that mankind might actually achieve authentic “democracy” regarding energy use.

After a four-day odyssey that began in New York, Solar Impulse 2 landed in Seville, Spain, early Thursday morning, completing the flight without using a single drop of oil. Cynics point out that the achievement is mainly symbolic, and that we’ve seen far more impressive accomplishments than planes flying without oil-based fuel. But what is most significant about this week’s landmark is that, even if it take a few more generations before solar panels power commercial airliners, a great leap toward that noble goal has been made. 

The word “democracy” is apt in this case. Apart from referring to a political system in which the majority gets to choose the government, the term can also be applied to equal access to resources. 

In truth, distinguishing the world’s rich and poor comes down to access to energy. Those who have fuel in abundance are better off financially and socially and, sometimes inadvertently, they tend to limit access for everyone else.

It’s one matter for poor countries to hold elections and entirely another if they don’t have to spend massively on expensive oil, reliance on which is what truly divides the world into haves and have-nots. Sunshine, on the other hand, is abundant around the planet. Were it to become the key source of energy, ending our dependency on oil, poor countries would finally be able to cast off the central shackle that binds them to poverty. The world would be a better place for the underprivileged.

Thus the success of Solar Impulse 2 provides further impetus for research into and development of renewable energy. All that currently forestalls genuine global democracy, it can be argued, is the lack of solar cells efficient enough to meet the colossal demand. What we have so far are costly and produce relatively small amounts of power. Vehicles powered by sunlight run or fly too slowly. The raising of crops using solar power remains mainly experimental and the scale is not noticeably expanding.

If the nations of the world, finally acknowledging the vast potential of the sun as an energy source, were to join hands, all the challenges could be overcome. In one hopeful example, a study is underway as to the prospects of producing cheaper and far more efficient solar cells. Commitment and effort would bring that goal within reach. In this era of nanotechnology, harnessing solar power on a global scale is surely as achievable as flying a solar-powered plane between continents. 

The greatest obstacle, of course, lies in overcoming the reluctance of the status quo, the politico-economic world order whose authority rests on oil. The multinational oil conglomerates wield tremendous influence in politics as well as finances, and they won’t stand by quietly while the switch to solar erodes their core business. 

Yet this is chiefly why the success of Solar Impulse 2 is so significant. The historic cross-Atlantic flight has defied both the doubters and the foes of alternative energy sources. It provides further inspiration for the believers who are already working hard to cure the world of a lethal addiction.