Solar-Powered Boat to Patrol Great Barrier Reef

          The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 1,600 miles. Patrolling this area seems to be a difficult task for Queensland's Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing (DNPRSR) and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and so, the agencies are using solar power to help.
          Marine engineering consultants (MEC) have been requested from these agencies to help construct a 78.7 feet long-range Catamaran Patrol Vessel to work in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The catamaran is very eco-friendly as it is equipped with extensive solar panels, high R-value insulation, zoned air conditioning, as well as window blinds and shutters to reduce the impact of the Queensland sun.

Students use Solar Power for "Sun Grand Prix"

     
         Friday, June 28, 2013, was featured the hottest day of the year, defining that it was also one of the best days to solar race at the Circuit of the Americas track in Texas. The event was known as the "Formula Sun Grand Prix." The cars are made by college students from 11 universities, who are putting their young engineers to the test.
         "If we had another month and another $10,000, it would probably look slick, but we had neither of those things so we use duct tape," Raul Molina with the University of Texas Solar Team said. The students design, build, and raise funds for their teams, just as any other business technique would be used for their own products.
          "There is a reason that the company is having you look at this and it's to make profit for the company and not for you to test out your cool little widget," race organizer Gail Luek said. Joel Thongson with Western Michigan University had to combine his book knowledge with a little elbow grease to get the job done. "This really applies to what most of us are going to do in our jobs so it is really great real world experience," he said.
            The solar cars have the capacity to reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour, but they were only hitting about 35 on Friday. The race continues today (Saturday, June 29, 2013) at the track from 9am to 5pm EST.