Wind powered record attempt thwarted by climate change
4th September 2008
Two pioneering Brits have been attempting to break the land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle (WPV) in the highly evolved Greenbird at Australia’s Lake Lefroy. Dale Vince, Ecotricity MD, and Richard Jenkins engineer and creator of Greenbird, have spent an entire month waiting for the conditions on Lake Lefroy to become optimum for breaking the world record.
Unfortunately on this occasion the weather was not right for the team to break the record. The lake is normally dry in September, but this year it is unusually wet due to uncharacteristic rain fall. Lake Lefroy experienced an extra 29.3 mm of rain in July and August this year than 2007. July saw twice its monthly average fall in 2 days at the end of the month and August saw its monthly average quota fall over just 12 hours. These changing weather patterns are a typical result of the impact of climate change.
Dale Vince said: “We’re pretty disappointed not to have even been able to get the Greenbird out of the starting blocks. And it’s an irony not lost on us while that while Greenbird is intended to show how the world might be getting around when fossil fuels run out - the changes that fossil fuels are causing to our climate right now appears to be the very thing that has stopped us.”
Vince became involved in the Greenbird project as a result of his dedication to wind-generated technology - his pioneering power company Ecotricity introduced the concept of green electricity to the world, and has been building wind turbines and selling green electricity across the country since 1996. Ecotricity now supplies 35,000 homes across the UK. The company also directly reinvests money that customers spend into new forms of clean power. Over the last four years Ecotricity has spent an average of £460 per customer, per year, on building and developing new renewable energy sources. This is over 11 times more than the ‘big 6’ suppliers combined.
The Greenbird is essentially a Formula one, single purpose craft that couldn’t be used on a day-to-day basis. In an innovative new project, Ecotricity is working with a team of highly skilled engineers to create a 2nd generation wind powered car for the UK market. It will be a practical alternative to petroleum, diesel and hydrogen fuelled vehicles; powered using electricity generated by the wind. Ecotricity’s sexy new car will be completed by early 2009.
Dale Vince said:” In the next twenty years I firmly believe that wind power will be our main energy source and wind-powered cars will no longer be the stuff of dreams. At Ecotricity we are dedicated to making this a reality, and at the end of this year we will be able to share more about stage two of this project, a wind-powered super car for every day use. We want to change the world and create a very real solution to transport in a post-oil economy. We believe this revolutionary new vehicle is it. “
Already Richard Jenkins and Dale Vince have their heads to the drawing board for their next exciting wind-powered record attempt. This time an adapted craft will sail on ice and will try to break the existing ice yacht speed record of 84mph. This new challenge will take place in early 2009 at Canyon Ferry in Montana, USA.
Jenkins says: “After many years of uncooperative weather I am used to it by now, but it does not make it any the less frustrating. Almost every other sport or race has direct competitors, where it does not matter what the conditions are, they are the same for everybody and all you have to do is win. When we can't set a new record due to the impact of the weather, it is not like losing a race, but it is more like an athlete not even being allowed to enter the arena. However, we are firmly focused on the next attempt for the ice record in 2009 and are confident we can beat it..”
Dale Vince and Richard Jenkins have been blogging from the outback in the run up to the attempt. Log on now and see how this phenomenal attempt evolved. www.greenbird.co.uk
ENDS
* Australian government bureau of meteorology
For further press information, interview requests and photography please contact:
Becky Cross / Alison Weir / Gemma Boyland
Bray Leino
T: 0117 973 1173 / M: 07921 055696
E: press@greenbird.co.uk
Madeline Carroll
Ecotricity
T: 01453 769318 / M: 07500 441466
E: madeline.carroll@ecotricity.co.uk