News about Solar, Wind and alternative green power technologies

The largest solar boat will soon be on the surface of oceans of the world. The PlanetSolar, will be equipped with photovoltaic solar panels covering 500 square meters. This will be the sole supply of energy required by the innovative boat.

The catamaran will be of a length of 31m and a width of 15m. A total solar energy capacity of 103.kW can be captured. Yet, the engine will only require 20kW to reach its normal speed of 8 Knots (9mps or 15kpH). The maximum speed of the boat is expected to be about twice the normal speed. It is interestingly how the PlanetSolar can actually fully achieve its propulsion from energy harnessed from the sun.

The catamaran of 60 tonnes was constructed by Knierim Yacht Club in Kiel, northern Germany. The total cost of the development amounted to $24.4 million (18 million Euro). The boat is expected to show its first footprints of green-boat in coming months June and September.

Moreover, to maximise the solar energy capacity that can be harnessed, solar panels were installed on the prolonged amidships and stern. SunPower is the company that provided the black photovoltaic cells. The cells are very effective in capturing 22 percent of the energy delivered by the sun. It is according to SunPower the most effective solar panels on the market.

PlanetSolar was envisaged by a 38 year, Swiss, Raphaël Domjan. He, together with a Frenchman Gérard d’Aboville who was the first person to ever row the Atlantic Ocean, will travel round the globe with the photovoltaic boat. The places where the catamaran will stop will be:
1. Hamburg
2. London
3. Paris
4. New York
5. San Francisco
6. Singapore
7. Abu Dhabi

This technology is not intended to replace contemporary technology in the short-run. PlanetSolar is slowly bringing us back to fully-green technology used by boats 10,000 years ago. Boat freight represented 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2008, which is around 6 percent of total greenhouse emission and more than 100% what air transport represents.

Sources: TreeHugger, Timesonline, PlanetSolar