Solar Panels On Your Toyota Prius?

Well the rumors have become news items so maybe there is truth to them now. Word had been getting around that Toyota was working on putting solar panels on the roof of the 2010 Prius that would be aimed at supplementing the power system (most likely the air conditioning system).

Today the rumors hit the newsstands as media began reporting that it was on reliable sources that Toyota was working on this solar panel idea using panels made by Kyocera. Toyota has so far refused to comment on the reports.

Now some of the reports seem a bit on the wild side as one outlet said they would generate 2-5 KW’s of power which is as much as a whole rooftop array on your house.

“It’s not going to eliminate gasoline consumption in a Prius, and it wouldn’t be on my list of energy improvements I’d make to a car,” said Mark Duvall, program manager for electric transportation studies at the Electric Power Research Institute. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t make a small but significant improvement in the amount of gasoline you’d use.”

Now I would hope this one is going to come. It think it is high time to integrate solar panels into a huge variety of moving vehicles. Imagine the day when truck fleets have solar on them powering some or all of their energy needs. There are those who pooh pooh these ideas as being too expensive and futuristic. Well look up at that friggin sign as you drive by the gas station. Look at the cost of food at the store. It is time to take oil out fo the equation and get rolling with solar in as many ways as possible.

Don’t back down Toyota!