Clean Energy In Michigan
OKLAHOMA (WKZO) — After a difficulty in qualifying rounds, WMU’s Sunseeker has until tonight to make it to Topeka, Kansas or they could be eliminated from this year’s Solar Car Challenge. They were allowed to start the race conditionally, leaving in last poll position because of electrical and mechanical problems during qualifying.
They had to borrow parts from two other teams to make the car work. They have to prove it can be competitive to stay in the race, which began in Oklahoma and will end in Chicago on Saturday. A check this morning shows they failed to make the first checkpoint in Neosho, Missouri.
The University of Michigan was first to leave the starting line yesterday, and remained in first place after the first day of racing. Their car managed to attain a top speed of over 110MPH in qualifying.
Running a car off solar power is the best kind of training for future engineers, if electricity is our fuel of choice for the future of transportation in the U.S. Governor Granholm says in her weekly address that the U.S. is giving a billion dollars a day to buy oil from countries that are largely hostile.
She says now the U.S. needs Washington to approve a Comprehensive Energy bill to move the country toward clean energy. She says 16 advanced manufacturers are setting up shop in Michigan to make lithium Ion batteries for the next generation of America’s cars. She says the government also needs to continue incentives for the purchase of all electric vehicles, until mass production can bring down the cost/per vehicle. She says the events in the Gulf should be a wake-up call.
