Eolian Solar Car Kicks Off Next Race with a Visit to La Moneda

At noon on Tuesday, December 20, President Michelle Bachelet crossed Moneda Street to see the Eolian Fénix, parked in front of the Government Palace in Plaza de la Constitución. It was a gesture of recognition by the country’s highest authority of the work carried out since 2007 by students from the University of Chile’s Schools of Engineering and Design. About 20 of the 50 students on the Eolian Team drove the car to La Moneda and waited for the President alongside Energy Minister Andrés Rebolledo; the Vice Rector of the University of Chile, Rafael Epstein; the dean of the UCH Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Patricio Aceituno; Conicyt President Mario Hamuy; and the director of SERC Chile and one of the creators of the Eolian, Rodrigo Palma.

Bachelet began her speech by wishing the Eolian Fénx every success on its 2,000-kilometer journey to Arica, which it will begin on January 9, and expressing her hope that it would serve as successful preparation for the World Solar Challenge to be held in Australia in October 2017.

He added: “Your success is also the success of an entire country that aspires to be a leader in renewable energy and continues to make progress in this area, both in the public and private sectors. And universities, of course, are essential on this path.”

The dean of the FCFM-UCH, Patricio Aceituno, praised the University of Chile as “capable of taking on major challenges” and spoke of solar energy as “the future of the country.”

“Here are the representatives of Chilean youth, serving as role models for what the country’s youth should be like, addressing issues of national importance and demonstrating that solar energy is the future of the country,” said the dean.

The dean of the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the Eolian captains, Sebastián Díaz and Javier Norambuena, explain to the President how the Eolian Fénix works

At the end of the event—a ceremony that lasted longer than expected—the President spoke with students from the FCFM-UCH, asked them about the car, listened to their opinions, and posed for a selfie with them. She also told them about an experience she had in India, where she learned about a project that trained illiterate women to assemble solar cells. “We could replicate that here,” she said.