Ecosphere Technologies’ latest product combines several of our very favorite things in one easy-to-transport package: shipping containers, off-the-grid solar power, and clean drinking water generation. With their new Ecos PowerCube, the company can deliver a shipping-container-sized, self-sustaining solar power station by air, sea, rail or road to anywhere in the world it is needed.
According to the Ecosphere Technologies‘website, the “Ecos PowerCube® is the world’s largest, mobile, solar-powered generator. It runs on high power photovoltaic panels that extend from its container combined with an easy to set up wind turbine. Energy is stored in onboard batteries.” The unit is designed to fit inside shipping containers for easy transportation, and it’s available in 10-foot, 20-foot and 40-foot ISO shipping container footprints. Once unloaded, its array of solar panels roll out from their protective drawers, increasing the size of the array to three times the footprint of the shipping containers and the power output to about 400 percent more than the footprint could generate alone. Power production can start immediately at up to 15kW.
There are also many other onboard features built into the unit – including communication systems and water treatment and distribution systems. These systems can provide internet connectivity to a range of 30 miles, satellite communications, and clean water, and the unit can power external systems such as hospitals or schools. The patented design is anticipated to have many applications, including humanitarian aid and disaster relief, military applications and power generation in remote locations.
Once the unit is opened up and operational, it provides a large covered area underneath that can be used for temporary classrooms or sleeping quarters. If the weather starts to turn nasty, the whole unit can be packed back up in a flash, and it can be monitored and operated remotely. According to Corey McGuire, director of marketing for the company, the design was developed after a suggestion from board member Jean-Michel Cousteau: “He asked us to figure out ways to bring energy, water, and communications to remote places – like a school in a village in the developing world – without the use of fossil fuels.” To for a 360 degree view of the unit, see the video here.
Source: http://inhabitat.com/amazing-pop-up-solar-power-station-delivers-energy-anywhere-its-needed/
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