Super-Yachts Go Green With Wind and Solar Energy
For all those multi-millionaires out there that want to enjoy the seas comfortably while going green, there is a new boat that could fit the bill. The Solar Sailor company based out of Sydney, Australia is creating a series of super-yachts that will run off of solar and wind energy. The idea is to create a solar sail that can multi-task as a sail and it’s energy source. A huge problem with many of the current yachts sailing on the seas is that they guzzle tons of gas and emits tons of pounds of CO2. The reason they require so much energy is that they not only need to run these huge boats, but they also have fancy equipment like Jacuzzis and movie theaters that require tons of energy to operate. One thing that shocked me was to see that they huge yachts can consume as much 1 liter of fuel per second. That’s right not minute but second.
The technology works through a computer system that will control the solar sail. The sail can then be electronically mounted based off of the sun’s position or the direction of the wind. Not only would the vessels be getting 5% of its energy from the solar panels mounted on the sails, but they would also be getting approximately 20-40% of the total energy needs from wind. This could save the owners tons of money to operate their yachts as well as eliminate tons of emissions.
The thing that frustrates me the most about this is: why do you need such a large and elaborate boat? Is it really necessary to have a yacht of such size that requires so much fuel to run? Just because the ultra wealthy that own super-yachts have the money to buy these, why not allocate you money elsewhere. Even after adding these great renewable energy modifications to these boats, they still are going to be burning tons of fuel. They are just burning less that they previously were. This is how our environment has taken such a huge hit. The need to have massive machines and boats that require tons of energy to operate. Even if they were to convert these massive boats to run completely on renewable energy, it still doesn’t make them green or eco-friendly. Tons of materials are needed to build these devices just to make a few people more comfortable when they are sailing. I’m all for supporting renewable energy, but we as a society also need to start conserving more. What are you thoughts.
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4 Responses to “Super-Yachts Go Green With Wind and Solar Energy”
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Cool!Plug in cars would cost the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to drive at the current average electric rates. The electricity to charge them could conceive ably come from solar or wind.This past year the high cost of gas seriously damaged our economy and society. While we are doing the Happy Dance around the lower pierces at the pump OPEC is planning straggly to raise the price per barrel back up to between 70-100. again. We really need to get on with alternative energy. Bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil and the control it has over our economy and society. There is a great new book out called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW by Jeff Wilson. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is worried about our economy and would like to see our country become energy independent. http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
Check out what a company called Better Place and the State of CA are doing, setting up the infrastructure to accommodate electric plug in cars. Very exciting !
http://www.scienceray.com/Technology/Transport/Will-Shai-Agassis-Better-Place-Become-a-Reality.373407
As you have pointed out, this is an item that appears to be more of an enabler than a problem-solver, since the main issue of heavy power and gas usage by the yachts is not corrected by this upgrade. It is like making a hard drive a little bigger each time it is almost full, instead of organizing the hard drive and deleting items to leave an ample amount of space.
While I applaud the application of technology to help the green cause, this is one of those “I’ll believe it when I see it” scenarios, as I’m not holding my breath that those who can afford these luxury yachts will ever install the equipment. Hope I’m wrong on this one.
You ask, “why do you need such a large and elaborate boat? Is it really necessary to have a yacht of such size that requires so much fuel to run?”
Two words, size matters!