Canadian Solar Boat moves to the U.S.A.
Electric boat designer and builder Monty Gisborne, who was planning to build his solar pontoon boat Loon in Ontario, is moving south to Buffalo, N.Y., lured by a $500,000 grant. When Gisborne cruised the Loon on the Rideau Canal in 2006, he barely attracted any attention. But, in 2007, he took the Loon through the Erie Canal in New York State and was swamped with media coverage - and an offer of funding. He plans to hire 60 people to build 50 Loons per year. Before he leaves Canada, he will build the biggest solar boat in North America, the Osprey, for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.In 1997, a report created with the participation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, estimated that pleasure craft expel unburned fuel into waterways every year that is the equivalent of 15 Exxon Valdez super tanker spills.
Labels: pleasure craft, pollution, solar boat, solar-power
posted by Pat Drummond @ 12/27/2008
1 Comments:
The solar panels provide only a small fraction of the power the boats use. They're really solar assisted.
60 people to build 50 boats? That's 1.2 person years of salary to add to the cost of an off-the-shelf boat loaded with off-the-shelf gear. Who will buy it?
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