Scooting Along On A Solar Panel With Wheels
What’s the Latest Development?
Two veterans of the renewable energy scene, Mike Donnell and Tony VanMeeteren, are preparing to release their Solar Electric Scooter (SES) to people who offer at least $1,500 on the fundraising site When You Wish through May 22. The SES’ riding platform is a photovoltaic panel encased in laminated, skid-resistant glass, and it can bear a load of up to 350 pounds, though Donnell and VanMeeteren recommend 250. It also has front and rear disc braking, safety lighting, and foldable handlebars. Besides sitting in bright sunlight, the SES can be charged via an electric outlet or an external charger, and can travel up to 20 miles on a full battery at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour.
What’s the Big Idea?
Donnell and VanMeeteren have been working on the electric scooter for four years, adding an electrical engineer into the mix to help them find and integrate the most efficient solar panel possible. They say the SES is street legal, but it’s not designed for hilly regions, and in fact a promotional video shows its rider cruising around sunny and apparently flat areas of California.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com
