09/04/2022 - Reader's Response (Final)

 The article “Go-Ahead Singapore rolls out 6-month trial of public buses with solar panels” (Kok, 2021). The trial of public buses with solar panels aims to explore the efficiency and durability of such system. Singapore welcomes a fleet of buses with solar panels to evaluate how effective and durable such implementation will be as part of a 6 months pilot trial on two Man A22 Euro 6 diesel-powered buses. Kok mentioned those solar panels will generate a total of 1000 watts of electricity to charge the battery on the buses. It will help to save up to 1400 litres of diesel and contribute to a reduction of 3.7 tonnes of carbon emissions per bus per year. Another evaluation will be to ensure the solar panels can withstand high temperatures and daily bus maintenance such as cleaning. 

Kok assured that rigorous safety assessments have been done to obtain approval by the Land Transport Authority which is supporting the initiative by Go-Ahead Singapore. The success of such pilot trials will be a game-changer to pave the way to public transport sustainability.

Solar powered vehicles are deemed to significantly improve fuel efficiency, reduce carbon footprint and hence, improving sustainability. Another of such trial is by Flixbus in Europe, solar panels fitted to one of their buses have cut fuel consumption by 7% (Deakin, 2020). The solar panels also help to extend battery life and run the vehicle’s electrical system to power USB charging points, lightings and more. Apart from technological developments, the gradual adoption of buses with solar panels will increase the commercial viability of solar panels across other vehicles in the long run. 

As for how solar panels will significantly reduce the carbon emission, this is supported by Neelis (2018) who stated that solar panels are sustainable addition to reducing harmful emissions and being cost efficient. Automobile companies such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have also been integrating solar panels in their recent models by having 100W solar panels which can generate up to 100Wh of energy which has evidenced a potential development. 

In addition, there are multiple start-ups and well-established manufacturers who are leveraging on such technology by integrating into various body parts such as tailgates, doors, etc (Weber, 2021). This will increase the energy intake continuously regardless of the car being stationary or moving. According to Lightyear One, such function will provide enough energy to cover more than 70% of annual miles and thus reducing fuel usage and improving sustainability.

Given all the pros, solar power vehicles would still require further development or improvements to be able to launch in the market (Zientara, 2020). One case-study would be Bluepoint solar car by Agoria Solar Team where even some of the best home solar panels cannot generate enough electricity for an average 25 miles. Hence, Nissan Leaf despite being a small vehicle, will require approximately 10 of such solar panels has proved its impracticality. 

In conclusion, the encouraging trial results from buses with solar panels is a big-step forward to reducing carbon emission by using lesser fuel. In time to come, technology development will definitely find new breakthrough to achieve implementation on all vehicles.