Heavy rains delay unveiling of RP solar-powered car in Philippines
By Tessa Salazar, Inquirer /with Cyril L. Bonabente, Inquirer Research
Manila, Philippines, August 8, 2007
Source: Inquirer.net
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/sports/view_article.php?article_id=81411
In an ironical twist, tropical storm “Chedeng” postponed the scheduled unveiling on Wednesday of a Philippine-made solar-powered car named Sinag (sun ray), designed to compete in a 3,000-kilometer race in Australia. But despite the shadow of Chedeng — also Filipino street slang for a Mercedez Benz — Sinag’s creators from the De La Salle University (DSLU) still feel sunny about their chances in the 20th Panasonic World Solar Challenge, an eight-day race across the Australian outback this October.
The race, expected to draw 44 solar car challengers from 22 countries, aims to increase public awareness of the potential of solar energy in transportation. The three-wheeled Sinag, which has an aerodynamic, wing-like profile and a slender white hull, has yet to be road tested.
The design team composed of DSLU engineering students, faculty members and project sponsors said Chedeng’s rainclouds will not put scheduled road tests on hold because the “all-weather car” can run on batteries. Sinag measures 4.8 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, and is 1.2 meters high. It weighs 150 kilos, a tenth of that of a typical car.
Engineer Rene Fernandez, Team Sinag’s overall technical team leader from DLSU’s mechanical engineering department, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview that Sinag can reach top speeds of 100 kilometers per hour and average 70 kilometers per hour (the cruising speed of the LRT or MRT trains) — that is, if the weather is ideal and the sun is out.
Team Sinag, they said, will definitely be ready for the unique race that will take them down Australia’s Stuart Highway connecting Darwin in the north and Adelaide in the south. It is more than twice the distance from Aparri to Jolo.
If Team Sinag performs well during the race, this would put the country in the solar car map, long considered a “brain sport” and the territory of developed countries. The race is the brainchild of Han Tholstrup, who, together with Larry Perkins, drove the world’s first solar car named “Quiet Achiever” on a 4,000-kilometers trek from Sydney to Perth in 20 days in 1980.
The first solar car challenge in 1987 was won by General Motor’s Sunraycer — which has an average speed of 67 kilometers per hour. The Biel team from Swiss Engineering School won it in 1990. In 1993, Honda broke the Sunraycer’s record when it traveled 803 kilometers in a day. The goal of finishing the World Solar Challenge in four days was accomplished in 1996, when Honda scored another win with a record average speed of 89.76 kilometers per hour.
In 1999, 43 teams from 14 countries traversed the Australian continent, with the Australian “Aurora” team taking home the trophy. The challenge’s current record-holder is the team from the University of Delft in the Netherlands, whose solar car Nuna-3 completed the 2005 trek in 29 hours and 11 minutes, with an average speed of 102.75 kilometers per hour.
DLSU is supported in this project by the Philippine Solar Car Society, Inc., Ford Group Philippines, San Miguel Corp, Motolite, Shell, SunPower, Philippine Airlines, and Ventus. The Society also counts among its members Aurora, Cabrera Lavadia and Associates, JWT, Creasia, Merritt Partners, Tuason Training School, Gochermann Solar Technology, and Stratworks, Inc.
The 2007 World Solar Challenge website reveals another entry in the Adventure category listed as “Japan/Philippines” under the name Salesian Polytechnic Solar Car Team. As of this posting, however, the involvement of another Philippine team in this project has not been verified.