Giant Solar Powered Butterfly Heading to Wentworth Campus

Seeking climate change solutions, the world’s largest sustainability tour is coming to Wentworth Institute of Technology. 

The SolarButterfly is focused on reaching millions of people, alerting them to the companies and individuals that are integral in transitioning societies away from fossil fuels toward clean energy technologies. Presently on a four-year journey around the world, the SolarButterfly plans to identify, record, and publicize at least a thousand climate protection pioneers and their solutions.  

The tour was initiated by Swiss environmental activist Louis Palmer who 15 years ago was the first person to circle the world in a solar-powered car. The symbol of a butterfly going through its transformation is a metaphor for his message. 

“While global warming is a big threat for the future of human beings, the solutions actually already exist,” said Palmer. “We want to show that lots of fantastic clean solutions are available which create jobs and save money. A transition of our society, like a butterfly, is very well possible!”  

Wentworth’s School of Engineering will host the SolarButterfly and crew on Thursday, July 27. Local political leaders, schools, and the public are invited to attend between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.   

During that time, guests will be able to tour the SolarButterfly, which is equipped with a uniquely designed large solar panel array that unfolds into giant butterfly wings. It incorporates a kitchen, bathroom, and living room and accommodates a crew of up to five people. The vehicle is the first to be built largely out of Ocean PET—plastic bottles gathered at sea and then processed for reuse. With over 900 square feet of solar panels, the vehicle produces enough energy to travel up to 150 miles per day. 

Katherine Antos, undersecretary of decarbonization and resilience for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, will deliver a keynote address. 

Since the start of the tour on May 23, 2022 in Geneva, the SolarButterfly has travelled more than 17,000 miles and visited 27 European countries. Nearly 140 projects have been reviewed so far. Some projects include a solar powered vehicle that never needs to connect to the grid to charge its batteries; a fossil fuel-free steel plant; and a group that has produced a search engine—which already has millions of visitors—that provides information on how to reforest our planet.  

The tour has already come through Switzerland, Germany and the UK this summer with future stops planned for Central America this year, South America, Europe and Asia in 2024, and Australia and Africa in 2025.