A Professor by the name Dr. Werner Pachero Lujan, working at the University of San Marcos has come up with an ingenious idea to replace the two-stroke petrol motors which currently power all the mototaxis which flood the streets of Lima city in Peru. His idea is to retrofit the mototaxis with a roof mounted solar panel, thereby enabling them to operate on a battery connected to the panels or on pedal-power, when the batteries are out.

The electric mototaxis will be first deployed in the capital city of Lima in Peru, since the city is the most pollution hit in Peru and is also sunny for more than 350 days a year. The electric mototaxi is a zero-emission vehicle and should help in solving Peru’s pollution problems to an extent.

The electric mototaxi has been equipped with twelve 40-Watt solar panels, laid out in a slightly unaesthetic manner, and has been coupled to an electric motor and a battery, in place of the two-stroke motor. The solar panels for the electric mototaxi have been supplied by a company called Skyllermarks, which specializes in environmentally friendly products. The solar panels are capable of generating enough electricity to charge the battery and power the lights of the vehicle in the dark.

Dr. Werner Pachero Lujan is now on the lookout for a company, able to mass produce the solar panels for his electric mototaxi, in order for the currently running two-stroke mototaxis in Lima and other South American cities to be converted into electric mototaxis.

Source – Eco Friend