If you were lucky enough a few weeks ago to see the arrival of Solar Impulse, the aircraft powered by solar energy, it may have piqued your curiosity about this alternative power source.

The plane, created in Switzerland over a 10-year period, is making its way from San Francisco to New York. Phoenix was the second stop on its journey. With the flight came the SolarImpulse across America, a program illustrating the wonder of the flight, as well as the potential of technological innovation for energy savings.

This reporter attended a demonstration yesterday (May 17) at Sky Harbor International Airport, with the pilots who are crossing the country, taking turns flying one leg each. Hearing these two men talking about this endeavor may be something like hearing Lewis and Clark preparing fore their journey west, or to Neil Armstrong by does he flew to the moon. These guys are pioneers, and their passion is contagious.

While at the airport, because the event was about solar energy, we also had the honor of meeting Fountain Hills resident Joseph Hui, president as and CEO of Monarch Power Corp, as well as a professor at ASU. Dr. Hui also is a pioneer and inventor. In the coming weeks, I will be working on a story about Dr. Hui and his achievements. He has an interest in becoming more involved in his hometown, and his passion is equal to the solar plane pilots about this alternative source of energy. He has developed a solar source to power his orange Lotus you may have seen tooling around the area.

This is sure to be an interesting story. Look for it soon!