DONG Energy Solar Challenge at Event Groen

From 23 until 26 February the DONG Energy Solar Challenge takes part in ‘Event Groen’ (Event Green) with a couple of solar boats. Especially for participants, sponsors and generally interested the DSC organizes, on 23 February, a Solar meeting at Event Groen. Focus will be on participants for the years 2012 and 2014.

Willem Maat took part in two solar races. First as contestant with a solar boat from the ROC Friese Poort from Sneek and two years later as team member of the Windesheim university in Zwolle. At the 23 February meeting he will be telling about his experiences. Project manager Jeroen Veenema of the Kenniscentrum Jachtbouw will talk about team performances during the DSC and head Technical Comity Joris Melkert explains all about the technical and innovative side of the solar boat races.

Event Groen is a sustainable event in Leeuwarden. Sustainability in the broadest sense of the word. Because with nine different thematic area’s it is more than just sustainable energy. There’s a sustainable experience in every area, from sustainable food, to sustainable energy and durable recreation. The DONG Energy Solar Challenge and its solar boats are located in the ‘mobility area’ for four whole days.

Albert Bosscha new project director DSC

From 1 January Albert Bosscha is the new project director of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge. He succeeds Andries van Weperen who was project director for seven years. ‘The ideas for a solar boat race came about seven years ago’, according to Andries. ‘It is my baby, so to speak, but it’s a good thing that somebody with new ideas has taken over.’

Albert continues the working method he and Andries started last year. ‘But this time I’m responsible for the race and entire event. I’m really happy with this exciting challenge. And of course I have new ideas about different elements we can put in to the race, but they are not fully developed yet for this edition. Secretly I am looking to the next race in 2014.’
Both men expect the coming edition to be a spectacular event. Andries: ‘The A –and Top class are getting better and better, so that will be pretty exciting.’ Albert continues: ‘There might be less teams, but the overall quality of the boats has risen enormously. Besides that more international teams enrolled and the international interest is growing. What the fastest time will be? I reckon it will be close to ten hours.’ Andries will stay involved in the DSC as an advisor.

New chef ‘results’: Nita de Jong

Nita de Jong is the new chef ‘results’ within the DONG Energy Solar Challenge race organization. In the last race she already helped a few days with the results team, so she’s familiar with the solar boat race. ‘I am looking forward to it and expect a super duper racing week’.

‘In 2010 I helped for a few days and is was loads of fun. When I was asked if I wanted to help in the next race I immediately said yes. But only if it was for the whole week! And then this new task came around which I think is a really nice challenge’, says Nita. ‘There’s heaps of enrolments already, so without a doubt it will be a fantastic week with many international contestants. How fast the winner will be? I have no idea, but surely faster than the winner of the 2010 race!’

Deadline for entering the DSC12 postponed

The deadline for entering the DONG Energy Solar Challenge is postponed to 1 March 2012. The organization understands that it is impossible for a lot of teams to enter the race before 1 January, especially because they need more time for the supplementary sponsors. With postponing the deadline we hope that these teams are able to compete in the race in July 2012 in Friesland.

By now 35 teams entered in the DSC. These participants are coming from Brazil, China, Turkey, Finland, Poland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Also the winning team of the Solar Challenge in 2010, the Private Energy Solarboatteam, entered to defend their title. We wish all participants a merry Christmas and a sunny new year! Good luck with designing and building the solar boats in 2012!

Frequently asked questions to the Technical Committee

The Technical Commission under direction of Joris Melkert received the past months a lot of questions and the first designs are judged. It strikes the committee that a lot of questions were about the maximum voltage in the electrical system (rule 7.4 of the technical regulations) and about the positive grounding of the solar cells of The Sun Factory.

In the technical regulations is noted that the maximum allowed voltage is 52 V DC or AC RMS. After several questions of participant on this point the Technical Committee decided in Note 2 to the regulations that the voltage in an open circuit is allowed to be higher. But, as soon as the electrical system is switched on the voltage has to be 52 V or below. In Note 2 the Technical Commission also wrote how teams of Challenge classes can use the positive grounding of the sponsored solar panels.
Click here for the complete explanation about both subjects.

Full house at symposium Solar E-volutions

The symposium Solar E-volutions of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge and NHL University had over 150 visitors. During the symposium sponsor contracts have been signed by The Sun Factory and Flevodruk Harlingen. The symposium was led by Wubbo Ockels.

During the symposium project director of the DSC, Andries van Weperen held a presentation about the development of durable energy and the solar boat race. Lector solar energy and transport Bert Plomp spoke about the new lectorate in NHL University and about integration of PV technology in buildings and vehicles. After that CEO Klaas Hoekstra of The Sun Factory talked about solar and wind energy in Holland as well as in other European countries and third world countries. At the end there were three presentations of the NEND Project of NHL University, in which Anton Wachter spoke about the PV sports boat, Anton van Wijk about the PV longboat and Teus Olivierse about PV applications in construction.

DSC12: a social community

The DONG Energy Solar Challenge is becoming an even more international event. Next year participants are coming from almost every part of the world and you can see and follow the developments of every team participating in the challenge on Facebook and Twitter. Online the DSC can become an even bigger event and grow up to be the big social network of solar powered boat followers.

Do you have Facebook and Twitter? Link up with our accounts! You can read all the news on Facebook and Twitter. A lot of participants and followers already joined our Facebookpage and follow us on Twitter. This way you can keep track on everybody. Look up a team and click on the ‘Like’ button. You can also post messages on the ‘Wall’ of the DSC. The more members we get the bigger the audience. We can create something big!

Curious how? You can find us on Facebook and Twitter (@DSC2012). You can also get in touch with other participants and followers!

Turkish adventure in the DSC

Kocaeli University is the first Turkish participant in the DONG Energy Solar Challenge. The team is put together by team leader Burak Isik and several councilors. ‘This will be our first time, so whatever we do, we can always benefit from it and we hope to win some prizes’, says Isik. ‘But we are definitely aiming for the innovation award!’

Isik is not unfamiliar with solar powered vehicles. ‘As an electrical engineering student, I am interested in solar energy. I worked with the university’s solar car team but after that, I thought that solar energy could be more useful for boats’, tells Isik.

According to Isik the DSC is the most prestigious solar boat race in world. ‘As far as I know, there were a lot of participants from different countries in 2010. Next year the DSC becomes an even bigger race with the participants from Finland and China.’

The Sun Factory: solar powered driving

Electric vehicles can be even cleaner than they already are, according to Klaas Hoekstra of The Sun Factory. The company developed a method in which solar energy can be directly used for recharging electric vehicles. At the company its already possible to recharge a car with solar- and wind energy, without using any regular electricity. Hoekstra wants to make this feature available for the general public in the future.

‘The idea to charge electric cars with solar- or wind energy started at home’, says Hoekstra. Earlier this year Hoekstra recharged his electric Tesla with solar energy at home. ‘I have some solar panels on the roof and during the day the energy is transmitted to the net. At the end of the day the generated solar energy is used to recharge the car. That’s why I’m annually driving energy-neutral.’

The Sun Factory is one of the main sponsors of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge. The company provides solar panels for all boats in the A-and B-class of the DSC.

Double mission Polish team DSC12

The Polish team from the Technical University of Gdansk has a double mission, winning with a boat in the A-class and with a boat in the B-class, but they also have a training goal with their old solar boat. Next year the Polish are participating for the fourth time in the DONG Energy Solar Challenge.

The Polish won the B-class in the Dutch Open Solar Boat Challenge earlier this year. ‘The plan is to use this boat as a training boat next year, ’ said Litwin. ´With this boat we collect data for research and we would also like to train the younger skippers on this boat.´

The boat from the A-class is currently under construction. ´We hope to finish the designing, building and testing the boat in December.´ The team uses carbon fiber in the construction of the boat. ´We believe the light weight is the most important about the boat.´

Read more about the Polish team of the Technical University of Gdansk in the weblog with Wojciech Litwin.