Are Solar Energy Drones The Future?

This article was originally published on the Motley Fool. Flying a plane with solar energy alone may seem like a far-fetched idea, but it's now a reality. In 2016, a prototype plane built by Solar Impulse with a single pilot flew around the world on nothing but solar energy, a first for humanity. A number of companies are trying to take that test flight from prototype to commercial viability. A realistic commercial application for solar-powered aircraft could be drones flying high above Earth where energy requirements to maintain altitude are lower.