DONG Energy Solar Challenge

This year one third of the contestants of the DONG Energy Solar Challenge (DSC) come from abroad. The foreign contribution at this event has never been this big. The teams come from the USA, China, Brazil, Turkey, Finland, Poland, Belgium and Germany. At the 8th of July the fourth edition of the solar challenge will start in Leeuwarden. All together 42 teams will pass along the route of the Frisian Eleven Cities with their own made solar boat in five days. The finish in Leeuwarden is at Saturday the 14th of July.
Midnight Sun Finland participates for the first time in the DONG Energy Solar Challenge and think they will reach a place in the top three. ‘To gain as much knowledge and experience as possible, we made a little tour through Europe’, says teamleader Kari Dufva. ‘We went to the biggest composites exhibition of Europe in Paris and visited two other participating teams. We will use all the tips we got. We definitely have a shot at a place in the top three.’
Between all the Dutch teams in the Top Class is one foreign participant, Cedarville University from the USA. ‘In 2006 we participated in Challenge A and we finished second. In 2010 we wanted to participate in the Top Class, but we thought our boat wasn’t good enough’, says teamleader and ambassador of the DSC Timothy Dewhurst. ‘This year we will compete!’
In particular high schools and universities participate in the DSC, but also companies and a few private teams have signed in for the competition. Flip de Leeuw from Amersfoort builds his boat of little plastic beercasks, several PET-bottles and tubes of recycled plastics. ‘I want to contribute to a better world and reduce our ecological foot impressions.’ This year the winner of the innovation price in 2010, the Andela SolarTeam, will come with a faster and lighter boat. ‘With the use of hydrofoils and a contra rotating doublescrew, we think we will reach a speed of 40 km/h. We definitely expect to end in the top three’, according to teamcaptain Sjoerd Andela.
Project director Albert Bosscha is very glad with the high number of international participants. ‘Every edition more foreign teams participate. We want to hold on and expand this, so we will have even more international participants in 2014’, according to Bosscha. The organisation also helps other countries with organizing solar boat challenges. ‘We support the local organisation’, explains Bosscha. ‘We are busy in Belgium and Bahrain. We want to expand this further.’