Solar Butterfly is a trailer filled with new technology entirely powered by the sun. The trailer is travelling around the world to promote solutions to stop global warming.
The trailer is shaped like a butterfly to create attention and raise awareness. Its wings are covered with solar cells, allowing it to run on 100% solar energy.
Spokesperson Frédéric Michaud explains that the solar cells are very efficient, but they are just one part of the solutions that the trailer has to offer. He says that there are a lot of other different technologies on display, offering both big and small advantages.
For example, the use of the little shower in the back of the trailer. It reuses the water that is being used to preheat water and also saves energy. It could also be said that all the textiles in the trailer are made of ocean-safe organic materials. The textiles contain no chemicals, so even if they end up in the ocean they would just be food for the fishes. The same can also be said about the clothes I am wearing.
Frédéric Michaud then knocks on one of the trailer walls and says that it is made of plastic collected from the ocean.
The Solar Butterfly started its world tour in Switzerland in May 2022. The plan is to visit over a thousand sites on six continents over a span of four years.
On Tuesday, August 2nd, the mobile home parked on Vaasa market square. This special visit was hosted by the City of Vaasa and EnergyVaasa, a collaboration of companies within the region’s energy cluster.
Kristoffer Jansson, Communications & Brand Manager for EnergyVaasa, was among those eagerly greeting the visitors:
We are excited to welcome our visitors. Vaasa is the energy capital of the Nordics, and it is natural that the Solar Butterfly makes a stop here. We also believe that solar energy is a part of the energy mix of the future.
The Solar Butterfly produces enough energy to power all the devices within the trailer in addition to the electric car that pulls the trailer. Inside the trailer is a TV studio, where visitors can familiarise themselves with what is being done to stop global warming around the world.
