A Solar Special: Flying Solar - Ride the Wings of the Nearing Future!

Every day, 24/7/365, there are thousands and thousands of planes in the sky. Regardless of how well they are engineered and maintained, they emit tons and tons of pollution because they are fossil fuel driven. In the future, some planes will be constructed to rely on solar power - photovoltaic power - as their fuel source. They will be flying solar!

It's the same concept as our personal automobiles being solar powered - just on a much larger scale. Science works that way though: if it can be done small scale, it can be done large scale with a little (or a load of) ingenuity. And that's one of the great new patterns of the future! Our governments are finally directing their brilliant scientists to come up with new and powerful ways to make the clean and renewable power of the Sun mainstream and affordable for industry and individuals alike.

Now, of course something of this magnitude isn't going to be completed overnight. However, it is already in the works. As a matter of fact, the US Air Force just completed construction of the largest solar production facility in the United States. It has over 72,000 solar panels that will provide 25% of all of the electricity needed by the entire Nellis Air Force Base. That's 30 million kilowatt hours every year and that's a lot! That will not only save the base an estimated 1 million dollars every year in electricity costs; it will also reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from the base by 24,000 tons! Future planes can be fueled with oxygen and hydrogen made thanks to solar energy. The first few planes already fly!

When the Air Force and other major military branches start implementing such strategies to go green, you can bet that society in general will be encouraged to follow. That's why you can be sure that we will all be flying solar in the future. It's not quite The Jetson's yet, but it's getting closer everyday!