Several weeks ago an adventurous team of people set off for Robert Swan’s conservation e-base in Antarctica to examine the further potential for renewable energy. The picture below is of the 2041 e-base team installing a wind turbine to power the base. The idea is to demonstrate that if you can live and work off green electricity in Antarctica, you can do so anywhere in the world.
The team have christened the new wind turbine ‘Paula’ after the UK greatest long distance runner and marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe. Team member Justin Hyde said “and boy does our Paula run well too! She is in it for the long haul. We have all been awestruck by her strength and speed, spinning against the incredible skyline of Bellinghausen. It therefore seemed fairly appropriate that we name turbine number 2 Kelly in honour of our other great UK runner, Kelly Holmes. We hoped she would bring us such good fortune.” The team however have struggled to get Kelly running due to difficult weather and working conditions.
Another of the e-base team members said “Now that we have a sustainable (fingers crossed) source of clean energy, our next challenge is to wire up the weather station and webcam, so that we can broadcast live video and weather data to the 2041 website 365 days a year”
Check out the 2041 website for educational videos on climate change, the e-base story, living in Antarctica, wildlife and wind energy at the e-base.
