PlanetSolar Debuts as World's Largest Solar-Powered Yacht

We've seen everything from solar-powered speedboats to passenger ferries cruising the waters, but never have we seen a solar-fueled vessel in the same ballpark of the mass of the PlanetSolar. The Huffington Post reports that the world's largest solar-powered yacht, measuring 102 feet long and 50 feet wide, was unveiled yesterday in Kiel, Germany. Covered with 5,382 square feet of solar panels, the Swiss-built, catamaran-style yacht will officially be launched into the sea in April. PlanetSolar will truly get its sea legs in 2011, though, when skipper Raphaël Domjan sets sail around the world and tries to set a solar-powered ship speed record. Maybe this means we can finally get over our qualms of a gas-guzzling cruise and catch some (energy-supplying) rays, for once. [From: Planet Solar, TreeHugger, and Huffington Post]