Australia has the World Solar Challenge for cars, the Netherlands has the Dutch Solar Challenge for boats.
The major race runs 200 kilometres over a number of days. The event began in Amsterdam a couple of days ago with a parade; then continues to Lemmer, then to Drachten, Grou and then finally Leewarden.
The timeline of the Dutch Solar Challenge shows the rapid evolution of solar powered boats.
First held in 2006 , the first boat to cross the line that year took 17 hours. In 2010, the fastest time was 11.5 hours. The race in 2012 saw the fastest completion in 10 hours and 40 minutes. In 2014, it was shortened again to just over seven hours.
In the early races, the teams were almost exclusively Dutch, but in more recent years the event has attracted interest from around the world. This year’s race sees 35 teams from the Netherlands, Indonesia, Belgium, Brazil, Turkey, Poland, China, Bahrain, Hungary, Finland and the USA participating.
There are now four classes in the race. “A” class is for single pilot craft and “B” class for two or more. The Top class participants have more freedom within the framework of the regulations with regard to their craft. The V20 class consists of boats with identical structural specifications but differing electric and electronic systems.
Some of the boats can achieve quite impressive speeds – up to 50 kilometres per hour. Several of the participants are using hydrofoils, which lift the craft out of the water so there is less resistance and less energy consumed.
Solar power is expected to play an important role in canal travel in Amsterdam in the years ahead. The City of Amsterdam is taking electric boating very seriously, which is stoking interest in the use of solar panels for aquatic power applications.
2-stroke engines on private boats on the city’s waterways will be banned from next year. Commercial vessels operating in Amsterdam will need to achieve zero emission by 2025 in order to continue operating on city canals and surroundings.
Vessels for maintenance of the waterways and river ferries may also be converted to fully electric or hybrids.
There are 165 canals in Amsterdam, with a combined length of more than 100 kilometres.
Learn more about the race at the Dutch Solar Challenge web site.
