News from The Solar Circumnavigator project
Quadsie and OSCAR to go for a voyage
Today, Anthony Howarth confirmed that The Solar Circumnavigator, a 20 metre photovoltaic powered Catamaran, will carry two historic solar vehicles on its epic solar voyage around the world.
These vehicles are lightweight second generation versions of two of Anthony´s remarkable collection of proof-of-concept practical zero-emissions solar vehicles and boats designed, built and tested over the past twenty years.
à¢â‚¬à…“Back in the 1980s and 1990s, when everyone else seemed to be talking about climate change linked to greenhouse gas emissions, it seemed to me to be more useful to get on with it and do something.
I set out to build useful and practical vehicles, not frothy impractical solar racing cars or, worse still, impractical solar concept cars. My idea was for simple, even cute, practical and useful light utility vehicles.
Once I had discovered that, averaged across climate zones, a wide model range of solar light passenger and goods vehicles could fulfil 25% of current transport needs with no loss of average speed, general utility and load carrying, I knew I had found a serious and seriously neglected element for the future transport energy mix.
Quadsie, based on a 10 year old proof-of-concept, is a 3-seat plus pick-up Quad style vehicle.
OSCAR (Original Solar Car), based on a seven year old proof-of-concept platform, can be configured as a two-seat pick-up or a 4-5 seat passenger vehicle.
Averaged across climate zones both vehicles are capable of about 20 miles or about 30 kilometres a day, day after day, from the sun, and, up to 75 miles or 120 kilometres from full batteries.
The Solar Circumnavigator project is being funded by trade sponsors and Peoples Projects Foundation. (www.peoplesprojects.net and www.thesolarcircumnavigator.org)
Gemozac, France June 24, 2009
Anthony Howarth, who hopes to become The Solar Circumnavigator in 2010 or 2011, announces some details of his solar boat.
à¢â‚¬à…“It remains my policy that the main specification of The Solar Circumnavigator boat will not be released until the finished boat is launched and shown to the public.
à¢â‚¬à…“This is a very competitive world. Over fifteen years ago I proposed a solar circumnavigation and published in great detail the technical specification, even the calculations, and the appearance of the boat. This openness secured a great deal of industry sponsorship in goods and services but raised no cash sponsorship. It did, however, result in the launch of, at least, four copycat projects. Most of these have fallen by the wayside in the intervening years.
à¢â‚¬à…“In the interests of satisfying the curiosity of our members and helping them to support us without jeopardising the security of THEIR project, we have released a few very basic facts about The Solar Circumnavigator project:
The boat is a catamaran, it is close to 20 metres long.
The batteries are Lithium ion.
The maximum speed is 25 knots.
The sustainable solar speed, day after day is, on average, about 10 knots.
à¢â‚¬à…“The Solar Circumnavigator is a project which has been in the making for twenty years. It is researched, designed and planned in minute detail. There are a number, at the last count over forty, special or exceptional features associated with the boat design and equipment. Today I want to publicly announce one of the most unusual of these special features.
à¢â‚¬à…“Two practical working solar vehicles will be carried on-board The Solar Circumnavigator. These vehicles are integral to the design of the boat, their excess solar power is automatically routed to the needs of the boat and they can easily be driven off the boat at any port of call by lowering permanently in place gangways.
The idea is to make even our local transport zero-input and zero-emissions before, during and after the voyage.
The vehicles are quite different from each other. Each one has its relevance.
Towards the stern of the starboard hull will be Quadsie, a Quad style vehicle with handlebar steering, but more capable and useful than a typical Quad. There are three seats, driver and two passengers and there is a substantial pick-up box or tray at the back. Four-wheel-drive, better than typical 4x4 ground clearance and exceptional suspension movement and axle articulation make for great mobility.
OSCAR (from The Original Solar Car Company Ltd) is a small 4-5 seater which can be configured as a 2-seater with pick-up. Oscar has a conventional steering wheel and car style controls.
OSCAR and Quadsie have similar load carrying capacity and performance. The maximum load is half a tonne or 500kg. Climbing, fully loaded, is over 30%, or one in three. Both vehicles have an average autonomy of 20 miles or 30 km, day after day, from solar power. Both vehicles have a range of about 75 miles or 120 km from full batteries. Acceleration is brisk enough to bring a smile even to Jeremy Clarkson´s face although the typically legal city maximum speed of 50 kph or 30 mph is not exactly going to turn the old man on. Jeremy Clarkson is the presenter of a controversial BBC car program known as à¢â‚¬à…“Top Gear.
Developed from eleven and seven year old proof-of-concept platforms, Quadsie and OSCAR are unique and, for the moment, highly confidential icons for future of perhaps 25% of world transport.
OSCAR and Quadsie will, when mounted on the boat, automatically contribute their excess charge to the boat´s solar charging photovoltaic array. They will be used before and after the voyage and at stop-overs during the voyage to provide genuine zero-emissions transport around boatyards, ports and towns. Their use is appropriate to the zero-input zero-emissions nature of this solar powered circumnavigation no sails, no wind generators, no fuels of any kind, not even for cooking, on board.
Anthony Howarth
Contact details
Peoples Projects Foundation
Salland 60
8245 CJ Lelystad (NL)
Phone: +31 (0)87 784 78 19
Email : [email protected]
Web : www.peoplesprojects.net