Suntech-Guosheng Ferry Uses a Solar Sail

I thought this was a cool concept and I wanted to share it; Suntech-Guosheng Ferry Uses a Solar Sail for Power.

The Suntech-Guosheng ferry made its maiden voyage on June 5^th, 2010. At 31.5 meters or 103 feet in length, the ferry set sail on the Huangpu River in Shanghai, as part of the Shanghai World Expo. The vessel features proprietary 'solarsail' technology developed by Australia-based Solar Sailor, a leading innovator in maritime solar technology. The boat is a series hybrid, meaning its propellers are driven solely by electric power, generated by the sun or by the diesel engine that acts as a secondary source of power.

In theory the boat would the ferry’s  moving photovoltaic sails would not only track the sun to gather energy, but also serve as sails, giving the boat various power source options such as solar, diesel or wind power. When docked, the boats panels would still gather solar energy, which they would feed into the power grid that would either store the collected energy or use it directly to power the ferry.

The owners of the ferry are Suntech Power one of the world’s largest producer of crystalline silicon solar panels, and Shanghai Guosheng Group which is a Chinese state-owned investment holding company.