The Power of the Sun
The Tuvanor's interior. Courtesy of planet Solar
MV Tûranor: ”Power of the Sun”.
That’s Elvish, by the way. Usually Science & Technology articles don’t open with a Tolkein reference. Today is different, as we giddily admire the aptly named solar-powered catamaran. The MV Turanor, currently 64 days into it’s no-need-to-refuel voyage (you can keep track here), has just begun its 160 day cirumnavigation of the globe. It will complete 31,000 miles at an estimated average speed of 7.5 knots. Captain Patrick Marchesseau of France and his four-team crew will oversee the journey. Stops include Miami, Cancun, San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, before the return to Monaco to complete the trip.
It is the largest solar-powered boat in the world and at just over 100 feet long and 49 feet wide (and a 40 occupant capacity) it is impressive by any standards. The effect is magnified when the folding solar panels are unfurled all the way. According to Wired the German-built boat has been covered in 5,780 square feet of 18.8 percent-efficiency photovoltaic cells capable of providing 93.5kW of power.
The MV Turanor with its solar sails unfurled. Image courtesy of Planet Solar.
We would love to wax lyrical about how wonderful and revolutionary this venture is, elaborating on how this might stimulate a positive top-down effect amongst the world’s wealthy “must-have-that-now” luxury-lovers as well as inspire at renewable conferences across the globe; but this missions statement form the Planet Solar website puts it’s goals far more eloquently:
“The aim is to offer future-proof solutions for sustainable living in major cities and environmentally responsible mobility concepts,” said the boat’s owner, German eco-investor Immo Stroher. “Solar mobility can make a significant contribution to this endeavor.
Check out the Turanor’s progress as of recently:”
[...] around New York’s greatest attractions. Or, the solar-powered, world globe-circumnavigating MV Turanor catamaran. Or, the news that the Philadelphia Eagles will be powering their stadium purely on renewable [...]