Solar-powered ship about to complete world tour
PlanetSolar’s Turanor, the world’s largest solar-powered boat, is nearing its goal of an 18-month lap around the globe.
Launched in 2010, the trip has been accomplished entirely with solar power, although the Swiss boat is equipped with backup diesel generators for insurance purposes. The generators have never been used.
Sponsored by watchmaker Candino, the ship looks like a futuristic speedboat or a NASA space shuttle, and is covered in over 700 solar panels in order to generate enough energy to power the vessel with some leftover to spare.
But although it might not seem like the most useful application of solar power, the vessel’s journey has drawn attention to solar energy capabilities from all over the world as it completes its record-breaking trip, docking finally in Monaco in three months.
The average speed of the ship is only 4-5 knots but the crew intentionally maintains a low speed in order to keep the huge lithium battery constantly charged to 30 or 40%. The crew stuck to a course along the equator to take advantage of the most consistent sunlight and stopped frequently at international ports including Miami, Panama, the Galapagos, Hong Kong and more as they evangelized about solar power.
The ship’s crew reports no technical difficulties and only had to redirect their course once to avoid a storm at sea. The biggest challenge to date was the number of bird droppings that clouded the solar panels’ surface in the Galapagos islands. But after the crew cleaned the surface of the panels, it was no longer an issue and they were able to continue on their way.
Regarded as an “eco-stunt” not unlike a solar airplane that fly for 26 hours last year, the crew hopes that the world tour will draw attention to the reliability of solar and recent advances in technology.
