The hosting of the University of Johannesburg energy movement - African solar car drive was held on 22 June 2015 at the Polytechnic of Namibia Windhoek.   

The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of the Mines and Energy, Honourable Kornelia Shilunga, who mentioned that Solar Energy is a fast growing sector that is part of the renewable energy drive worldwide.

The renewable energy drive comes in a form of an innovative creation by the University of Johannesburg via the African Solar Drive. The solar car that departed from Johannesburg, South Africa, passed through Uppington, crossed the border into Namibia, Mariental up to Windhoek. The team had plans to also travel to Botswana, and back to Johannesburg.

Powered only by energy from the sun, this is truly an African innovation for the world to appreciate and build on further. Solar cars need sunlight to run and that is why they use photovoltaic (PV) cells to convert the sun’s rays into electricity. When sunlight (photons) strikes PV cells, they excite electrons and allow them to flow, creating an electrical current. 

Battery power is used when sunlight conditions are not optimal. The battery pack is usually a collection of lithium ion batteries. This is the same kind of battery that operates cell phones and laptops. It usually takes only one day to fully charge the typical battery pack using the solar cell array. “Solar powered vehicles will eventually find their way in both urban and rural societies” said Honourable Shilunga.

Solar powered cars are believed to be the cars of the future, as they use solar energy, which is a renewable, free-of-costs source of energy that anyone can access and use. They charge themselves as the vehicle is driven.

Solar cars are environmentally friendly vehicles in that they do not emit gases that are harmful to the environment. This is in contrast to the fumes emitted by most of our cars, which eventually cause acid rain, and global warming.