Across America 2013:Final leg from Washington DC. to New-York City. HB-SIA © Solar Impulse |Revillard| Rezo.ch
The Solar Impulse solar airplane thrilled countless Americans this year on its Across America tour. The creators and pilots of the plane also met with some notable business and political leaders (such as Richard Branson and the US Secretary of Energy).
No, it didn’t show that we were ready to switch to solar airplanes for commercial flights (not yet), but it showed how far solar technology has come. It showed that a solar-powered airplane could indeed fly across the wide United States of America. It showed that solar power is a force to be reckoned with today.
I think that is what really inspired people about this flight tour, and the plane itself. Some of the people it inspired were tech leaders outside of the solar or aviation fields. For example, the solar airplane seemed to really excite Larry Page, CEO and co-founder of Google. And Google has now become an official partner of Solar Impulse, Solar Impulse’s Internet Technology Partner. And look at the smile on Larry Page’s face in the photo accompanying the announcement (admittedly, taken earlier this year):
Across America, Larry Page, Google CEO, visits Solar Impulse | André Borschberg, Bertrand Piccard and Larry Page posing in front of Solar Impulse | Moffett Field hangar in Mountain View, California, USA | 13.04.2013 | © Solar Impulse | Ackermann | Rezo.ch
“The partnership comes out of the successful collaboration between Google and Solar Impulse this past summer during the Across America Mission. Solar Impulse will continue to leverage its multimedia and online activities across various Google platforms including YouTube, Google Hangouts, Google+, Google Glass and Google Earth in order to better communicate with its supporters,” the Solar Impulse press release reads.
“Google+ will be Solar Impulse’s preferred social media channel and Google Hangouts broadcasted live during flight missions will bring the public closer to the pilots.”
Dr. Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, Co-Founders of Solar Impulse, add:
“This partnership is a unique occasion to promote mutually shared values like pioneering spirit, innovation, engineering excellence and clean technologies allowing to protect natural resources. With Google on board, our reach with the public, younger generations, media and political and business decision makers will be significantly enhanced.”
Where did this official partnership start? Perhaps with that smile on Larry Page’s face. “During Larry Page’s visit to Solar Impulse at Moffett Field, California last spring, we could sense his excitement and interest in our endeavor. We began to imagine all the things we could do together,” the Solar Impulse press release adds.
Larry Page is pretty good at seeing the future, and I’m sure he’s well aware that the future of energy is solar energy. Heck, it’s not just the future, it’s the present for millions of people. And those people are saving massive moola.
While solar power may not yet be developed enough for powering our commercial airlines, it is certainly developed enough to put on our roofs and help us save tens of thousands of dollars (each).
In other words, if you don’t have solar yet, get a quote and then get solar on your roof!
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