Solar Impulse abandons Pacific crossing amid poor weather

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Solar Impulse, the solar-powered aircraft attempting the first round-the-world solar flight, has been forced to abandon its attempt at crossing the Pacific Ocean amid poor weather conditions.

Having travelled from Abu Dhabi to Nanjing, China, the aircraft had been scheduled to fly to Hawaii before continuing across the US over the coming weeks.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The Solar Impulse team has however been forced into a number of postponements with favourable weather conditions a crucial element of the crossing, which is the longest single flight of the trip.

The aircraft needs favourable tail winds and enough sunlight during the day to charge its batteries for flying at night and the Solar Impulse team had been waiting in Nanjing for a month waiting for an ideal weather window, which it thought had been identified this week.

Pilot Andre Borschberg took off at 18:39 GMT on Saturday and was 36 hours into an expected six-day flight before updated weather forecasts suggested that the flight was in jeopardy.

The aircraft has subsequently been re-routed to Nagoya, Japan, where it will land later today before waiting for more favourable weather conditions.

“The pilot and the aircraft are safe, and safety is the priority. For the next few hours André will continue to fly at a high altitude, the batteries are full and we have very good conditions for an evening landing; we could even hold for a couple of hours for clearance to land,” the Solar Impulse team said in a statement.

“It’s a delay that is disappointing to us but, on the other hand, we are extremely happy with the performance of the aircraft. André’s flight will have lasted around 40 hours and this will be the longest flight ever made by a solar-powered airplane in terms of both duration and distance.”

Read Next

December 5, 2024
Nir served as the company’s chief marketing executive since June 2024 and will succeed Ronen Faier, who served as interim CEO of the company since August 2024.
December 5, 2024
The European Commission has launched a €3.4 billion call to support the development of “innovative decarbonisation technologies in Europe".
December 5, 2024
TotalEnergies has sold a 50% stake in a 2GW US solar and energy storage portfolio and acquired German renewable energy developer VSB Group.
Premium
December 5, 2024
Magdalena Hilgner of PLAY explains that projects that deliver power reliably and at a fair price will always be attractive for offtakers.
December 5, 2024
Australian energy company APA Group has completed the construction of a 45MW solar-plus-storage project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
December 4, 2024
Solar will form the cornerstone of Indonesia’s renewable power sector, according to forecasts made by think tank Ember Climate.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events, Upcoming Webinars
December 12, 2024
9am GMT / 10am CET
Solar Media Events
February 4, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
February 17, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
February 26, 2025
Seattle, USA