This solar-powered 10-seater electric boat has infinite range

Published

1 year ago

October 31, 2023

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The Solar Sal 24 in an electric cuddy cabin boat built by Belmont Boatworks in Belmont, Maine. The boat scored the wave-making designation of “first 100% solar US Coast Guard-inspected passenger vessel.”

Powered by an electric motor using batteries recharged by solar panels, it carries enough photovoltaic cells to provide infinite range, at least as long as the sun is shining.

Part of the Solar Sal 24’s impressive solar performance comes down to the sheer size of its canopy.

Stretching nearly the entire length of the 24 ft (7.3 meter) boat, the canopy supports four large 360W solar panels, totaling 1,440 watts of solar charging.

Those panels help charge up four Torqeedo Power 24-3500 lithium batteries providing 14 kWh of onboard storage capacity. But as long as the boat sticks to its 5-knot cruising speed (6 mph or 10 km/h), the output from the solar panels is actually sufficient on its own to power the motor without needing to draw battery power. That gives the boat infinite range as long as the sun is out, and a pretty darn long run time into the night on battery power, depending on the speed.

For those that want to push even harder though, the boat can manage one more knot at full power, bringing the top speed to 6 knots (7 mph or 11 km/h).

When operating at night, the boat has a range of 24 miles (39 km) at full speed or 45 miles (72 km) at cruising speed.

When dropping to four knots, the boat has a range of 100 miles (160 km). That should take nearly 24 hours, though, meaning the sun is probably going to be back out by then and beginning to recharge the battery.

Another advantage of the solar panels is that the boat isn’t limited to tying up at docks with shore power, but instead can be moored or docked anywhere while still charging its batteries up to full.

Standard equipment on the Solar Sal 24 includes 2 pedestal sliding captains chairs, cushions for bench seats with back rests, USB chargers mounted on both sides of the boat, running lights, anchor light, overhead lights, a table, 8 cup holders, non-skid surfaces on sole and deck, and a bilge pump.

Optional add-ons not bundled in the US $135,000 price include a 9” Chartplotter and transducer, anchor and rode, bow roller, bow thruster, Laveo dry flush marine toilet, window enclosure, and a trailer.

Solar electric boats are an increasingly common find, offering silent and efficient boating without the worry of recharging from shore power.

We’ve seen several options in the higher end of the market, though they usually come with much higher price tags as well. While the Solar Sal 24 isn’t an impulse buy at $135k, it also doesn’t come with the same million-dollar price tag of several solar electric yachts out there.

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Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Beta Technologies founder completes first test flight in its production-intent eCTOL [Video]

All-electric aircraft developer BETA Technologies has shared another important milestone in bringing its first two vessels to market. Most recently, BETA’s founder, CEO, and test pilot Kyle Clark took the production version of its ALIA eCTOL up for its first flight, as seen in the video below.

BETA Technologies is a fully integrated electric aircraft and systems developer based in Vermont. Three years ago, it debuted its first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the ALIA–250. That BETA vessel has since been renamed the ALIA VTOL and completed a piloted test flight transitioning mid-air this past April.

In addition to the ALIA VTOL, BETA has also been developing an electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) plane called the ALIA CTOL. To date, it has flown tens of thousands of test miles en route to evaluation flights for FAA certification. That aircraft is targeting full approval for commercial operations by 2025.

As BETA moves closer to bringing the ALIA CTOL to the public, it has completed its first bonafide production build in South Burlington. Following a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), BETA has successfully taken its production-ready ALIA CTOL up for a test flight, piloted by its founder and CEO.

Watch BETA’s founder complete a CTOL test flight

BETA Technologies shared details of its first successful production CTOL test flight today alongside the images above and the full video below.

Once the production-intent build of the ALIA CTOL was complete, the FAA inspected the aircraft for safety and compliance before granting BETA a Multipurpose Special Airworthiness Certificate for Experimental Research & Development, Market Survey, and Crew Training, signing-off approval for test flights.

On November 13, BETA CEO, founder, and test pilot Kyle Clark conducted the first test flight of the ALIA CTOL aircraft, which lasted nearly an hour. The test included a conventional runway takeoff before the aircraft climbed to 7,000 feet.

While in the air, Clark tested the aircraft’s handling qualities, stability, control test points, and initial airspeed expansion before completing several approaches ahead of a normal landing. Clark spoke following the successful flight:

This start of our production CX300 flight test campaign is a result of years of hard work and focus on studying customer requirements, hard engineering, manufacturing, production, quality and test. It represents a significant milestone for BETA, and is the beginning of an exciting new phase for the business. With this, we’re one step closer to putting this technology into the hands of our customers.

We learned a lot from this first production build. We weren’t just building an aircraft company, we were building and refining a system to build high quality aircraft efficiently. This first build allowed the team to collect data and insight on manufacturing labor, tooling design, processes, yields and sequences, all of which are being used to refine our production systems.

With its production test flight campaign now underway, BETA says it will continue testing the ALIA CTOL aircraft for the standard 50 hours required before qualifying for a Market Survey and Crew Training certificate. That next certificate will enable BETA to fly outside of Burlington and Plattsburgh and continue training additional pilots on the aircraft.

The company shared it will also continue production of additional aircraft, including ALIA CTOL and ALIA VTOL configurations, the latter of which was recently teased in October. You can view footage of BETA’s CTOL flight below.

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Environment

U.S. crude oil rises, trades around $69 per barrel

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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U.S. crude oil rises, trades around per barrel

Crude oil futures rose slightly on Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark trading around $69 per barrel, though the market outlook remains bearish.

Global crude supplies are expected to outstrip demand by more than 1 million barrels per day next year led by robust growth in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency’s monthly market report.

Here are today’s energy prices by 8:07 a.m. ET:

West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.92 per barrel, up 49 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is down more than 3%.
Brent January contract: $72.78 per barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.7%. Year to date, the global benchmark is down more than 5%.
RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.9711 per gallon, up 0.3%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen nearly 6%.
Natural Gas December contract: $2.966 per thousand cubic feet, down 0.6%. Year to date, gas has gained nearly 18%.

UBS slashed its price forecast for global benchmark Brent to $80 per barrel from $87 previously on weakening demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer.

OPEC on Tuesday cut its demand growth forecast for the fourth month in a row earlier this week.

U.S. crude oil has shed about 4% and Brent is down 3.5% since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential as the dollar has surged. A stronger U.S. dollar can depress oil demand among buyers that hold other currencies.

Don’t miss these energy insights from CNBC PRO:

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Published

15 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Loren McDonald stops by Quick Charge to discuss EV charging, Paren, and more

Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.

Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.

Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.

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