N. Korea: NK tries out solar-powered bus

Korea Times ^ | 2015-11-02 | Kim Hyo-jin

[TigerLikesRooster]

Posted : 2015-11-02 16:29

Updated : 2015-11-02 20:33

NK tries out solar-powered bus

North Korea's solar-powered bus / Yonhap

By Kim Hyo-jin

North Korea is operating a solar-powered bus in the western city of Nampo, the North's state media said Monday.

"Nampo created a bus powered by solar energy and it is now being used for public transport," the state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) said, quoting a member of the city's science and technology committee, Jeong In-sung.

According to Jeong, the bus uses 32 100-watt solar panels, 50 batteries and a direct-current motor.

"It has run 800 kilometers so far, and was able to a carry maximum 140 passengers at 40 kilometers per hour," KCTV quoted Jeong as saying.

North Korea has been encouraging people to use renewable energy in a bid to meet electricity demand.

In recent months, more households have been installing solar panels on their balconies or in their windows, reports say.

According to reports, state propaganda released by the ruling Workers' Party in February reads, "Develop and make effective use of wind, tidal, geothermal and solar energy."

The reclusive country has long suffered from a chronic electricity shortage.

[Kirkwood]

The bus only goes downhill.

[smokingfrog]

3200 watts equals about 4 horsepower.

[Graybeard58]

Those panels wouldn’t power two of my wife’s hair driers and they want me to believe it carried 140 people as well as the weight of the bus at 40 k/pH?... yeah, sure...

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My thoughts as well. 140 NORK adults, about 10,000 pounds maybe, (if a few of them are “over weight”), plus as you said, the weight of the bus..........didn’t happen.

[Eagles6]

And China uses the norks to sell their missile and nuke weapons tech, giving the implausible deniability.

Yeah. A country that can't produce a bicycle thought up a nuke on it's own.

[beaware]

That is plenty enough to run the radio, windshield wipers and the automatic windows... if you read the article carefully, they never say that the motor was used for actual propulsion...

[palmer]

According to reports, state propaganda released by the ruling Workers' Party in February reads, "Develop and make effective use of wind, tidal, geothermal and solar energy."

Sounds just like our state propaganda.

[TigerLikesRooster]

NK is a role model for certain U.S. inhabitants. For example, they don't waste energy. At night NK is almost pitch-black as you can see from a satellite picture. They yearn for the same pitch-black night so that folks in S. Carolina could see Northern lights at night.

[JRios1968]