The world's largest solar-powered boat was placed in the water for its first trip on March 31. The boat was gently placed in the Baltic Sea where she will remain for a test period until being transferred to the Mediterranean. The PlanetSolar boat measures 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, and is covered in 5,300 square feet of photovoltaic panels that will power an electric motor. "PlanetSolar is a boat equipped with a classical technology that is available on the market. The purpose is to demonstrate that today the renewable energy sources and the technologies allowing to improve energy efficiency are reliable and high performance," a PlanetSolar spokesperson said in a press release. The ship was built at the HDW Shipyard in Kiel, Germany and will embark on a trip around the world in 2011. Visit: www.planetsolar.org for more information.
