Solar-electric car generates power and excitement

By Judy Fahys
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Launched: 10/03/2008 08:00:00 AM MDT

Michael Mielke's new car has infectious energy.

It runs off the sun, and its whirring engine is creating a big buzz - big enough, he hopes, to get other Utahns hooked on low-carbon, no-petroleum, pollution-free solar-electric travel.

"We've got to have it in order to survive," said Mielke, whose new car is practical for everyday use. "And I don't think that's an overstatement."

Mielke and the car's developer and co-owner, Kyle Dansie, are proud to be part of a revolution that's taking to the streets near and far.

Car runs off the sun

Electric-car advocates foresee a future in which fossil fuels are no longer an option - either because they have run Car runs off the sun out or have rendered the planet nearly uninhabitable.

Whatever the reason, solar-electric cars seem to have a growing appeal.

Earlier this week, Mid-American Energy, a unit of famed investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, announced it is buying a 10 percent stake in a Chinese auto and battery maker called BYD Co. BYD expects to be selling electric cars to consumers next year.

In the U.S., Chevrolet is working with a concept plug-in hybrid Volt, and Ford has its Flexible Series Hybrid Edge. But neither plans to make them for consumers.

Dianne Nielson, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s energy advisor and leader of his statewide climate-change task force, agrees that these are times for transportation alternatives like the electric vehicle. Better batteries and better solar technology are under development.

"There are a number of technologies and breakthroughs that are going to lead us in that direction," she said. "I definitely think [an electric vehicle] needs to be part of the trend, and I think it will be."

At the mouth of Millcreek Canyon, Andy Schoenberg has been making solar-electric transport for years. He's in his 10th version of a one-person vehicle that he uses for grocery shopping and other errands.

"I think I'm way ahead of where the world needs to go," said Schoenberg, a retired professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering at the University of Utah.

People are drawn to the vehicle and pepper him with questions about it. "And most think it's a really wonderful idea."

But maybe not enough to actually get them to build or buy one. "It's still so far out there for people," Schoenberg said.

Dansie made his first solar-electric vehicle - a motorcycle - with the step-by-step instructions found in a book called "Convert It." He used the bike for a year before deciding to try the car.

He also installed panels on his east-side Salt Lake City garage so he is not drawing energy for his vehicles from the electric-power grid. He gutted a 1994 Volkswagen Golf and fitted it with battery packs, an electric motor and a roof-mounted solar panel - a project that he says lies within the skill level of most people.

And now Dansie has distilled his solar-technology expertise on his web page, http://www.zevutah.com/.

"This is an open-source project," he said.

The car is being showcased at the Sustainability Conference on Friday at the Leonardo in downtown Salt Lake City.

"This," Mielke said, "is what we think the future is going to be."

fahys@sltrib.com