Scientists and environmentalists all over the world are having meetings to discus on global warming. I also thought about this problem & an idea struck me about a new design using solar energy.

From our school years we are studying about solar cookers, solar heaters, etc but still large numbers of villages which don’t have fuel for cooking don’t have solar cookers. They prefer using dry woods which are easily available in their vicinity. I was intrigued by the concept of solar cars, which work on solar energy & store this energy in their batteries to drive when there is less solar energy available. As a result they will save our precious fossil fuels, no combustion, no pollution, etc. India being placed in such a good geographical place receiving sunlight for most of the year compared with other developed countries, but still no major solar projects have been started on a large scale. Honda has launched its FCX Emission-free Fuel Cell Technology cars but they are not still popular. Some Indian automakers have started taking steps in making hybrid & electric cars. Electric drive motors are becoming common in the two-wheel sector, it will require a little more time to come in the four-wheel sector. I think this type of cars will get an overwhelming response from the consumers in the long run due to their clean technology & cost effectiveness which increases with new advancements in science. These cars can be driven in the night too as the solar energy can be stored in batteries & even if there is no enough sunlight available we can charge them externally.

The important thing which I would like to share is about a design I call “Flora” ( flower + array) as this idea came from a flowering plant in our garden called sadaphuli (catharanthus). The flora are shaped in the form of a flower which has a heighten stalk made of metal roll which has a thick base & tapering towards the top. The petal is made of special fiber-plastic material (Mostly use in external walls of corporate buildings). On these petals we have solar panel fitted which are connected to storage batteries located at its base. These petals are tilted at certain angles to capture maximum sunlight during different time of the day. These petals are further covered by a transparent fiber material. At extreme top edge we have a nozzle used for cleaning the panels with water when dust accumulates, similar to the ones on car’s bonnet to clean the windscreen. All petals are connected to each other like the webbed feet of duck. The entire structure should be heighted so that less dust gets accumulated on the surface & they don’t act as hindrance for heighted vehicles. There is a straw like structure at the center point where all petals meet, made of heavy duty plastic pipe which goes deep in the ground. During rainy season these petals will collect water & pass them to water table thereby increasing the level of water table in our ever increasing concrete jungles. There should be different measuring & safety devices at the base to measure the charge stored, etc. We can use array of these “FLORA” to collect maximum energy & use this energy to power streetlights on highways & also for their traffic signals(hence I have kept the name green signal).

These should be placed on the dividers of highways by doing so we can save lot of electricity & they can also act as rail for high speed vehicles if they come on the opposite way. In events if the charged stored in the battery is less due to cloudy weather, the electricity line can supply the required power, as in our electricity grid system. With modern technology we can build high durable & different floral design for each area, increasing the cities beauty & also decreasing carbon footprint.

As the use of solar cars & “Flora” designs increases the demand for fossil fuels will decrease. The solar cars can also get a chance to recharge their batteries, if they run out of their juice in the middle of a highway. I think using “Flora” with other new technologies we can definitely reduce the effects of global warming & help the environment to restore to its good health.

Achieving this depends mainly on there things first using renewable energy, second afforestation & third realization of ground-breaking environmental performance through the introduction of innovative technology.

A line about myself : My name is Pankaj Raghunath Kadam pursuing my B.E currently in fourth year from P.V.P.P.C.O.E , Sion, Mumbai. My email address is pankaj.kadam01@gmail.com