This might be the most Solar-Mobility story of all: one person, a second-hand vehicle and a lot of determination.
In 2011, Kim Audette of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico spotted an old 1994 US Electricar 14-seat electric bus for sale on eBay and put in a bid of just eighteen dollars. The bus needed work, and Audette wanted it to run on sunshine, but commercial panels were expensive. So he taught himself to build solar panels from information on the internet. After several failed attempts he got them right and covered the roof with about 2 kW of homemade panels.
Under the floor sit 40 golf-cart batteries and two electric motors, and of course there is no tailpipe. Audette likes to explain efficiency in kitchen terms: driving one mile takes about 700 Wh, roughly the energy needed to brew a pot of coffee.
In 2015 the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission approved the Solar Buzz as an intra-city bus. It runs as a daytime shuttle service with a $3 fare, operated by Hot Springs Transit, an off-grid public transport service that is “always plugged into the sun”.
Technical data
| Builder | Kim Audette, Truth or Consequences, NM (USA) |
|---|---|
| Base vehicle | 1994 US Electricar 14-seat electric bus, bought on eBay (2011) |
| Solar | ~2 kW of homemade panels on the roof |
| Batteries | 40 golf-cart batteries |
| Motors | 2 electric motors |
| Consumption | ~700 Wh per mile |
| Service | Licensed intra-city shuttle since 2015, $3 fare (Hot Springs Transit) |
Photo (Kim Audette / U.S. DOE): Photo by Kim Audette. – U.S. Department of Energy from United States / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Sources: Wikipedia: Solar bus