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The Power of The Sun

The Power of The Sun The Sun can be associated with one of the most popular British tabloid, as well as to our central galactic star. This article is not going to consider the latest celebrity gossip, as many of you may hope for, but it will contemplate the future implied with the power of our biggest star. Most of us are probably aware of the fact that the Sun is one of the main causes of life on earth and there are many attributes that we can associate our “Sol” with. To list all these attributes within this article would only mean that the main subject we want to discuss has gone afar. That is why the consideration of the Sun will focus on Egypt, at least in this piece. Here, in Egypt, we take sunshine for granted, and we are not referring to one of these cloudy days that “might” happen during the winter period, but to the scientific records that proved Egypt to be one of the Sunniest countries in world. So why don’t we take advantage of the power of the Sun? It was an only a thesis, supported by scrupulous research , that it is possible to generate enough energy to run a 95t boat; but this thesis is unstoppably confirming to be true. On the 13th of March 2012 we have witnessed the theory of successfully running a boat that only relies on solar energy to be proven true. TÛRANOR PlanetSolar was a guest at the Hurghada Marina Boulevard for 5 days, in which it created such astonishment among the public that many were not even sure what exactly this object was. To be precise, the boats that we are used to see on Red Sea horizon look nothing like the solar boat. Maybe it’s because of its flat, shiny surface, or maybe because it looked more like an UFO. What is certain is that we were all overwhelmed by its design and by its power. Raphaël Domjan, the initiator and expedition leader of PlanetSolar, and Erwnn Le Rouzic, captain of the boat, were kind enough to explain how the boat works and how the energy is being generated simply from sun rays! PlanetSolar is the biggest solar ship in the world. The 537 m2 of photovoltaic panels supply 6 blocks of lithium-ion battery, a technology that offers maximal power and energy density, thus enabling a navigation time that is unmatched to date! The boat started its cruise on the 27th of September 2010 from Monaco following a road close to the Equator. On 13th of March 2012, the boat arrived at the Hurghada Marina Boulevard and stayed for 5 days. The boat captain told HEPCA that there was no need to stay that long in Hurghada, as all the batteries reached their maximum power just after 1 day since its arrival. However, the hospitality they received and the beautiful view of the Marina made them stay a little bit longer than anticipated. HEPCA’s team as well as officials from the Red Sea governorate invited the crew for dinner, where they received an appreciation award from both HEPCA and the Red Sea Governor himself. In exchange we received a hard copy of the book dedicated entirely to the idea of solar energy and the TÛRANOR PlanetSolar. What was the most beautiful aspect of the boat concept was the fact that its CO2 emission for the total expedition is zero! This future forward attitude and the ability to change the most dangerous human habits are the inclinations towards HEPCA’s mandate, which is to protect and conserve terrestrial and marine ecology of the Red Sea area. HEPCA wishes the crew from TÛRANOR PlanetSolar all the best for their upcoming adventures!