The trip started in Toronto and took da Luz to 44 cities and across Canada twice. His car, called the "Power of One" or Xof1, is a single-seat vehicle that looks more like a UFO on the road. The vehicle cost about half a million dollars to build, can travel 200 kilometres on a single charge and has a top speed of about 120 kilometres an hour.

Da Luz started his project in 1999 as an effort to compete in the annual World Solar Challenge across the Australian Outback. He decided instead in 2002 to beat the Australian team's long-distance record.

His trip ran into some difficulties, including a stop in Edmonton on his way to Inuvik this summer when cloudy skies prevented da Luz from charging his car's batteries.

Da Luz said he built his vehicle independently, without corporate sponsorship, in order to demonstrate how one person can make a difference in helping the environment.

"This project presents an opportunity for individuals from various backgrounds to come together to promote the use of clean and sustainable energy and inspire others to do the same," da Luz wrote on his website.

Posted at 02:12PM Nov 01, 2008 by Kevin P McAuliffe in Astound  |  Comments[1]