First solar powered plane set to travel the world in March
Solar Impulse 2 has been named as an exploration to prove that clean energy flight travel is possible
Even based on present climate-change policies, demand for fossil fuels in the world’s two biggest energy consumers will take a hit. A recent bilateral agreement unveiled between the US and China to slash emissions could see the two countries’ oil demand reduced by more than 15 billion barrels of oil over the next 15 years, reckons Lord Browne, former chief executive of BP and now a board member of UK shale explorer Cuadrilla Resources. This year, if all goes to plan, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg will be the first pilots to circumnavigate the world in a solar-powered plane. Solar Impulse 2 will be the only aeroplane of perpetual endurance, able to fly day and night without a drop of
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