Solar energy to power trans-Atlantic voyage
By Renwick McLean
International Herald Tribune, November 28, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/28/news/solar.php
MADRID: More than 500 years after Christopher Columbus first sailed to the Americas, a Swiss catamaran is scheduled to depart from southern Spain on Wednesday in an attempt to make the first trans-Atlantic crossing in a boat powered entirely by solar energy. The journey, conceived by Marc Wüst, a manager at a Swiss manufacturer of solar-powered boats called MW-Line, is intended to promote the commercial potential of solar energy in water travel.
“Solar energy is not a just a trivial technology for strange people,” David Senn, a member of the boat’s five-person crew and a professor of zoology and ocean biology at the University of Basel, said by telephone from Seville. “It can be used for major missions.”
The boat, called Sun21, will not set any speed records. It is expected to arrive in New York only in May, after making several stops to promote the project. Its average speed, four or five knots, or seven to nine kilometers an hour, is slower than that of most sailing yachts, although it has the advantage of traveling in a straight line rather than tacking back and forth to harness the wind.
Solar power is scarcely used in boat travel today, and the technology is not yet advanced enough to be commercially viable for trans-Atlantic voyages.
“You get much more power per square meter of sail than per square meter of solar panel,” said Matthias Wegmann, who helped take the Sun21 from Switzerland to Spain and who has been piloting solar boats for 20 years.
But Wegmann said that solar power could replace the gasoline-powered engines used by sailboats for inland navigation in rivers, canals and marinas, where winds are often insufficient. “The future is a combination of solar power and sails,” he said. Solar power could also eventually be used in commercial shipping, he said: “I could imagine in 20 years or so that solar power could partly supply the electric engine in cargo ships.”
Weather permitting, the Sun21 is scheduled to depart Wednesday morning from Seville – about 90 kilometers, or 55 miles, east of Palos de la Frontera, where Columbus began his voyage in 1492 – and to follow the Guadalquivir River out to sea. The boat, which measures 14 meters, or 45 feet, long and 6.5 meters wide, is topped with a canopy containing 62 square meters, or 667 square feet, of solar panels.
Half of the energy will be stored in batteries, enabling the craft to travel at night. The panels should produce enough energy for the boat to continue traveling through prolonged periods of cloudy weather, albeit at a reduced speed, according to the crew. “We have a very efficient engine,” said Senn. And because the boat is a catamaran with slim hulls, he said, “we have low friction with the water.”
The boat is well-equipped to handle the high waves and strong winds it may encounter at sea, and should have no trouble completing the trip, according to Senn. The crew of five includes a physician, Dr. Martin Vosseler, should any medical emergencies arise. The use of solar power in water travel today is limited to some recreational boats, a few ferries and a handful of cruising boats capable of traveling longer distances.
“The industry is split between sailing and petrol-powered ships,” said Wegmann. But solar-powered electric engines are advanced enough to begin making inroads soon, he said. “What they need is more marketing.” Because the engines are very quiet and do not pollute, Wegmann said, they could appeal to recreational boaters.
“Many sailors don’t like using their petrol engines,” he said. “A lot of people are crossing Europe through canals and rivers on their way to the sea. These people would probably be very interested in solar power.” Commercial shipping could also benefit, he said. “The bigger the boat, the more room for solar panels.”
The estimated cost of the project is about €450,000, or about $590,000. It is being financed entirely by a group of private sponsors through a Swiss association called Transatlantic21, which was created expressly to support the project.
The boat began its voyage of 7,000 nautical miles in Basel, Switzerland, on Oct. 16. Before its planned arrival in New York on May 8, it is scheduled to stop in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, St. Martin, the Bahamas and Florida.