Toyota is planning to put solar panels on the new edition of its Prius hybrid car, according to the International Herald Tribune.
The car maker is refusing to comment but the informant said that the solar panels would be used to provide power for an air-conditioning system for the car.
"It's more of a symbolic gesture," said the person, who asked not to be identified because he was not allowed to speak publicly.
"It's very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy."
Kentaro Endo, a director at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan who specialises in renewable energy, said the application of solar energy was severely limited in vehicles.
"Even if you laid solar panels out on the entire roof of a house, you only generate enough energy to run two hairdryers," he said. "It's an interesting idea, but it would be very difficult to power a whole car, even with technological advances."
Toyota claims the iconic hybrid vehicle has helped cut global carbon emissions by approximately 4.5m tonnes in the last decade 16 May 2008
Battery specialist A123 Systems reveals it is to launch special plug-in charging kit that would allow Prius to drive up to 40 miles as pure electric vehicle 29 Apr 2008Study of the UK's six greenest cars reveals major savings in running costs and even showroom prices 30 Jan 2008Toyota has launched a trial of plug-in hybrid technology in Britain 12 Sep 2008
Japanese automaker admits high price of zero-emission i-MiEV an obstacle to consumers 09 Jun 2009
Japanese auto giant confirms it will launch a new lower-price hybrid model to take on Honda's Insight 27 Mar 2009
"We invented solar technology, but we've fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it," warns president 25 Feb 2009
But enforcement is awash with flaws, as beverage suppliers reveal government contracts will not expire until 2011 10 Jul 2009
Ban Ki-Moon hits out at developed nations' failure to deliver more demanding short-term emission targets 10 Jul 2009
Project to develop roadmap for nation's use of carbon capture and storage technology 10 Jul 2009
More news
Bill Beaver takes the microscope to the backroom deals that will shape the future of the US climate change bill 09 Jul 2009
Whenever a big story breaks about the dire straights in which the natural world finds itself, it always sparks something of a... 07 Jul 2009
Carbon market activity ticks upwards, as China and India blast "green protectionism" 07 Jul 2009 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
