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Wallenius
Wilhelmson unveil plans to build a solar powered ship capable of
transporting 10,000 cars from Britain to New Zealand - March 2005
The
futuristic 'Orcelle' may be the first ship to use sun, wind and waves
to propel its payload across oceans using renewable energy. A
model of the ship is to be displayed at the World Trade Fair in Aichi,
Japan in February 2005.
A
spokesman for the Scandinavian company said: "This will be the
first truly environmentally friendly ship, protecting the atmosphere
and marine species". They have around 60 modern vessels
that together carry 17 million vehicles a year by sea.
E/S
'Orcelle' - Solar, wind & wave powered cargo ship - Cost £46
million +
At
820 feet long 'Orcelle' is shorter than the Queen Mary 2 (1,132ft) and
the QE2 (963ft). The ship is called the E/S Orcelle after the
Orcelle Dolphin - the French word for
Irrawaddy dolphin, one of the world's most critically endangered
species. The E/S stands for "environmentally sound
ship". The vessel will include a cargo deck the size of 14
football pitches.
Wave
energy is to be harnessed by 12 dolphin like fins an the ships
hull. While, sun and wind energy is collected by three giant
rigid wingsails, also covered in solar
panels.
The
cruise speed is in the region of 15 knots. Stability is provided
by the shape of the Pentamaran hull - a slim monohull that will have
two smaller support hulls know as sponsons on each side. You may
recognise this layout as a Trimaran, or stabilised monohull (see Solar
Navigator) in that there are essentially, three hull components in
contact with the water.
The
cost of the ship is not yet known, but it will be more expensive than
a conventional cargo ship which are up to £46 million. Nils
Dvvik, the company's chief executive, said that the ship with some of
Orcells's features could be launched in the next five years, but that
it could be 25 years before we see a vessel incorporating all of the
design features.
Solar
Navigator (test model) - cost: around £5 million
Solar
boas in
Europe -
In
the USA -
Solar
Boats Built by Engineering Students Wins National Competition
Mailing
list for Solar BoatsWorld
championship of solar-electric regata
In
Canada -
Solarboat
projectSolar
kit for boat
In
Australia -
Solar
Sailor
In
Japan -
First
Solar Pacific Crossing
Free
time with solarboats :
In
Germany : Walking
with solarboats in Nordhorn
Energy
- Environement
Planair
in La Sagne
Switzerland.
Solar
energy links
SSES,
Société Suisse Energie Solaire
Switzerland
Service
cantonal de l'Energie, Neuchâtel
Switzerland
Futurebike,
Human Powered Vehicles (HPV)
Switzerland
Swissolar
Switzerland
Solarserver
Germany
Solarpolis
Germany
A
lot of links in Austria
CONTACT:
+44 (0) 7905 147709 (UK)
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