Australia's new energy yacht in operation

Sun Sailor is in talks with an Australian mining company to install a 40-meter-high solar sail on a large cargo ship to deliver iron ore and other natural raw materials.

A blue-and-white ferryboat on a remote island in Hong Kong does not seem to be different from any other vessel, and when the passengers near the view, you will find the top of the ship is very special, the laying of a smooth Solar panels, while the ship is very quiet, there is no usually in the berth when the issue of piercing roar. This is the solar sailboat developed by the Australian Sun Sailor Company.

"Solar albatross" powered by solar sail in Hong Kong waters, according to the BBC online edition recently reported that, (here xx instead, you know) * is using four solar sailboat, like a shuttle shuttle like some golf Golfer to learn golf courses on the island. Now they have become the world's first solar hybrid ferry fleet, while for this may change the future of solar energy windsurfing technology to form a commercial test field.

Solar energy and wind Qi into battle, the fleet of the ship - the "solar albatross" was raised two sails with solar panels sailed to the sea. The unique function of this sail is the ability to simultaneously use solar energy and wind energy, a greater degree of dependence on fossil fuels. The principle is similar to hybrid cars. The power generated by the solar panels is stored in the battery, providing power to the ship when it enters and leaves the port. Once the ship sailed to the open sea, the need for faster speed, the ship's internal that will switch to the diesel system, while sailing from the sea breeze to get energy.

Robert Danny, the founder of Sun Sailor, says the technology will save fuel owners and will have the potential to be used on all types of ships, from simple ferry boats to luxury superyachts and large cargo ships And naval patrol ships. In the next 50 to 100 years, all the ships will be raised solar sail, which is absolutely possible. We will find plenty of sun everywhere, and also from the wind to get more energy than the solar energy.

In 2010, the company launched three yachts, "Solar Albatross" was started last year passenger. Solar sail technology is also used in Shanghai and Sydney, two ferry.

This hybrid technology can save between 8% and 17% on fuel, Danny said, but the cost of repair and maintenance is more than expected. Nevertheless, he is confident of future operations.

To build solar sail "giant", Danny hopes this year in Australia and Jiang on ferry demand to reach an agreement, and the technology installed in two offshore research ship. Although there are other competitors in the solar ship, but their company's advantage lies in the development of technology has been a certain size of the commercial test.

Danny said ambitiously that the company will soon announce a deal with an Australian mining company to install a 40-meter-high solar windsurf on a large cargo ship to power iron ore and other natural raw materials to China.

He compared the solar wind sail to the "giant", the surface covered by solar panels, when the ship parked or loaded cargo, you can also fold the 20kw PV inverter folded into the ship.

When the ship is running at 16 nautical miles per hour, the company estimates that this giant sail can cut its fuel consumption by 20 to 40 percent while its solar panels can have an additional 3 to 6 percent energy saving contribution. The cost of this system is $ 6 million, so the return on investment will take several years on the basis of existing oil prices. Danny said that if you continue to use, future returns will not be a problem, and now do is to make it fine in the sub-functioning.

So that the future of the ocean cleaner, environmental campaigners claim that the current shipbuilding industry emissions of greenhouse gases have exceeded the aviation industry. If Denny's wish is that the technology will have a wider range of adaptation, it will likely make the ship industry "clean" up.

Denny says starting traditional, extremely powerful engines is cheap, but uses fuels that pollute the environment, so inverters can do more to ensure they use less fossil fuels in the short term.

For the government, it has been difficult to regulate and regulate the industry. The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recently proposed new regulations to improve fuel efficiency and limit sulphide emissions, and technologies similar to those developed by Sun Sailor will emerge.

Although it will take 10 years to commercialize and start making profits, Danny is very optimistic about the company's future development prospects. He said the company will focus on areas less affected by the global economic downturn, such as defensive projects, which they plan to apply to unmanned maritime transport as an alternative to offshore patrol boats in Jiangxi PV module manufacturers . He says they know that these technologies will pay off, but that some outside factors will limit their development, but they are in an exciting point of gain, one of the ongoing projects will be in the 2012 profitability.