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World's Largest Solar Powered Yacht to Navigate the Globe in 2011
The world’s largest solar powered boat, PlanetSolar, was recently unveiled in Germany and is now preparing to circumnavigate the globe in April 2011, breaking world records and changing attitudes toward a much greener approach to yacht design.
Being green is very much a focal point for the modern society these days, as people design and create different ways of becoming a more eco-friendly civilisation.
The new 30m by 15m PlanetSolar catamaran, conceptualised by Swiss designer Raphael Domjan, will cost around $24 million and is bound to break future trends in yacht design.
He will begin the journey around the world with French mariner Gerard d’Aboville, controlling the boat's sleek and unique design alongside the accompanying 500 sq metres of solar panelling through seas world wide to prove its mettle.
PlanetSolar was constructed at the Knierim Yacht Club in Kiel in northern Germany which has furthered the design's ability to easily carve through the water, most likely putting less stress on the solar power and furthering the speed to an impressive 15 knots for the 60 tonne yacht.
Recent trends in superyacht design are pointing to a greener approach with several eco-friendly designs beginning to surface, such as Alastair Callender’s Soliloquy. The Soliloquy has an adjustable superstructure in order to give it rigid sales, inspired by the zero emissions of Masdar City.
The company that constructed PlanetSolar, which goes by the same name, stated: “we want to show that we can change, that solutions exist and that it isn’t too late. Future generations are looking to us; our choices will mark the future of humanity.”
"we want to show that we can change, that solutions exist and that it isn’t too late. Future generations are looking to us; our choices will mark the future of humanity,”"