Setting sail in September 2010, the world’s largest solar boat is continuing its voyage to Miami.

The Turanor PlanetSolar, which started its journey from Monaco in late September, marks an innovation in the boating world with its environmentally friendly approach to sailing. It measures 102 feet, has a 50 foot beam and weighs around 60 tonnes. The topside is covered with 5,300 square feet of solar panels, which allow the vessel to be powered entirely by energy from the sun, reaching a top speed of 15 knots. Thanks to some ground breaking design by LOMOcean Design the boat can also part waves, using less energy than riding on top of them.

The boat is the outcome of PlanetSolar’s mission to create awareness about the advantages of renewable energy, and to show that current technologies to improve energy efficiency do actually work. They also want to encourage more scientific research into the field of renewable energy. The boat was built in 14 months by Knierim Yacht Club in Kiel, Germany and will be piloted around the world by a team of 5 men and 1 woman. German entrepreneur Immo Ströher, an advocate of renewable forms of energy, invested $17.5 million into the development of Turanor PlanetSolar.

Turanor PlanetSolar will arrive in Miami on 29^th November, after which it will head to Cancun, Mexico – the site of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Follow the journey of the boat at: www.planetsolar.org

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