We’ve featured a number of news stories here at TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk about police forces across the USA adopting various green cars. So another day, another story – except this time, the police force in question isn’t simply replacing its fleet with hybrid or natural gas cars. No, it’s going solar.
The Ohio Highway Patrol Cars are to be fitted with five-watt solar panels in an effort to conserve fuel and battery life. The fleet, which consists of 1,200 Ford Crown Victorias, will have the solar panels, which cost $37 each, mounted on to the rear decks of the cruisers within brackets that have been fashioned from misprinted licence plates that have been recycled.
Speaking at a meeting earlier this week, the patrol claimed that the panels will allow the vehicles to be turned off while the troopers sit monitoring traffic. The solar energy will power the police’s radio systems so that the officers don’t have to keep their engines idling just to keep the radios on.
