SUNNYSIDEUP Solar boat completes first milestone
We recently highlighted this solar based project when the TÛRANOR solar boat set off from Monaco to prove that human’s interaction with the oceans can be more energy efficient and less wasteful. This is another prominent example of pushing PV energy to its limits and beyond. We will keep an eye on the journey and wish the team the best of luck as they continue on their ten month journey.
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he TÛRANOR PlanetSolar has reached the American continent on its voyage around the world. The boat docked at the Miami Beach Marina , 61 days, 0 hours and 34 minutes since the boat’s departure from Monaco. The entire circumnavigation of the globe will take at least ten months. Manned by a crew of six, the catamaran, developed and built for a German- Swiss team surrounding the Darmstadt eco- businessman Immo Ströher and the Swiss visionary Raphaël Domjan, is currently undertaking the first circumnavigation of the Earth using only solar power. The next port of call will be Cancún.
The arrival of the world’s largest solar-powered boat in Cancún is scheduled for 6 December to coincide with the World Climate Change Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“We have a goal in showing that we can change, that we have the technology, the knowledge, the means. It is possible for each of us to make a difference and it depends on our individual and collective responsibility”, says Raphael Domjan.
Imme Ströher, the boat owner, explains: “We want to show with our project that in addition to the stationary generation of power, solar energy can also provide mobility,” explains Ströher.
To date the maritime transport sector has been considered as extremely wasteful with regard to energy. The catamaran TÛRANOR PlanetSolar is 31 metres long and 15 metres wide and is driven exclusively by solar energy. The name TÛRANOR is self-explanatory: it is derived from the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien and means “The Power of the Sun”.
The futuristic electric motorboat is of incredibly light yet extremely durable carbon-sandwich construction. The boat was designed by the New Zealander Craig Loomes, one of the most innovative boat designers of the world today. Loomes designed the TÛRANOR PlanetSolar according to the socalled “wave-piercing” principle, where the catamaran “cuts through” the waves. This uses less energy than conventional concepts, where the boat “rides” the waves.
The most exciting feature of this enormous double- hulled boat becomes apparent from an aerial perspective: solar panels by Solon AG from Berlin are installed on deck. These panels use highly efficient photovoltaic cells by the US supplier SunPower Corporation (San Jose, California).
A total of 825 modules, equipped with 38,000 individual photovoltaic cells are mounted on a total surface area of 537 square metres. These capture solar energy, which is then stored in six dozen ultra-modern, maintenance-free lithium-ion technology batteries. The storage units weigh only one-seventh as much as traditional lead batteries.
Four electric motors from Nuremberg – two each per drive shaft – have a maximum output of 120 kW and an incredibly high energy efficiency of over 90 percent. They drive two contra-rotating carbon propellers from Voith Turbo Marine Composite Technology GmbH in Hohen Luckow near Rostock. It is interesting to note that the diameter of each propeller is almost two metres, twice the usual size for a vessel of this size. This makes the propulsion more efficient.
www.solar-pv-management.com Issue IX 2010
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