Solar-Powered Boat Travels Thousands Of Miles
April 26, 202610 minutes ago
Jake Richardson
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The last time I checked in with this Finnish guy with his solar-powered boat, he was still in Finnish waters or near them. In this more recent video, he is headed toward Spain, having mostly passed through France.
In my last article, I included one of his videos from months ago and wondered how much his vessel cost. In a different video later, he did explain the startup and operating costs. He paid about 30,000 euros to buy the materials and build his solar power and electric boat in Finland. The caveat is, he said, the materials were purchased in Finland where they were expensive, or very expensive. He explained that if he were able to build it again in a different location to keep costs lower, it might be 10,000–15,000 euros.
The monthly operational expenses are less than $1,000, with zero spent on fuel because the electricity to propel it comes from free sunlight. Maintenance costs are $50 per month or less.
His largest cost is for his own fuel: food. Of course, if he was on land, he would need that too, so the food cost is separate from the boat costs. His food costs about $500 a month. Operating the vessel itself costs very little. Electric motors are much more energy efficient, quieter, and don’t generate toxic air pollution, so piloting an electric boat can be more comfortable.
Those of use who follow land electric vehicles know battery packs continue to decrease in price and increase in capacity. Electric motors are also decreasing in price and weight. Solar panels are quite affordable now and their output has increased greatly over the last several decades.
Putting these facts all together means for certain boating applications, as we see in the above example, many future boats may be built with full solar polar, battery packs, and electric motors with zero fossil fuels involved.
The price of fossil fuels is volatile and tends to keep rising over time. Fossil fuel combustion also is the primary generator of climate change emissions and produces toxic air pollution that harms human health. There are also frequent oil spills at sea and on land that cause great harm to wildlife and their habitats.
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