Polar Solar From Belgium For Antarctica
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05.31.06
In late 2007, The International Polar Foundation will begin building the first polar station to be powered by renewable energy. It will utilise solar, and wind, with the latter being in ample supply in Antarctica. When completed the station will house 20 staff and signal Belgium’s return to the southern polar region. Costing 6.4 million euros, it will support scientists studying climate change. The green targets they are chasing are greater than 98% renewable energy, 100% grey/black water treatment with a minimum of 50% (and up to 90%) of that being recycled for reuse. Get all the details, right down to funky windloading imagery in a hefty 53 page PDF from the IPF site. ::International Polar Foundation, via ABC Online.
This is also good for figuring out how to live on Mars, since it will require similar power generation and water recycling systems.
And I'm also amazed I resisted making a waffle joke.
we do love our waffles :)
Solar in the Polar, only for 6 months in the year. Lucky they have windpower for those dark nights, must be the beans :O)
I'm surprised they didn't do this earlier. I assume they currently use diesel fuel & generators, which must be very expensive due to transport costs. ...Plus life-threatening if the diesel fuel supply runs out. Now, how 'bout adding wind turbines to existing stations? No need to spend 6+mil on new ones. :-)
In Home Power issue 99 (http://www.homepower.com), they talk about Camp Raven, which is located on the Greenland ice cap just below the Arctic Circle. It gets all of its electric from solar and wind and has done so for several years now. So it appears the outpost described in this article isn't the first.
Is this where the houseing market is going? LoL. Actually i'd like to live there. It'd be a experience to say the least.