Ecosphere Technologies Inc., Stuart, Fla., has completed its first Ecos PowerCube, the world’s largest mobile, deployable solar-powered generator. Designed to meet demand for off-grid energy and telecommunications with a unique array of stacked solar panels, the patented Ecos PowerCube maximizes the total amount of solar power generation possible in 10-foot, 20-foot and 40-foot standard ISO shipping container footprints.
With power generation capabilities up to 15 kW, the Ecos PowerCube can be used to power various onboard systems, including wireless telecommunications, solar powered Internet, and mobile water treatment systems. Electricity generated by the Ecos PowerCube system can be used to supply military or emergency response and disaster relief teams with life-sustaining, mobile infrastructure modules, such as hospitals, command centers, sleeping quarters, and temporary schools.
This review at www.extremetech.com takes an in-depth look at the PowerCube and offers what seems to be a balanced analysis of its pluses and minuses. ExtremeTech gave the PowerCube kudos for small installations, but also said the lack of storage batteries may limit it primarily to daytime use. The reviewer also said the 15kW power output is quite a bit less than what a diesel generator produces:
“The other problem is that a diesel engine in a shipping container can kick out between 600kW and 1.7MW depending on size (the Ecos PowerCube, by comparison, outputs just 15kW. That’s a rather steep difference — and while it’s absolutely fair to point out that the diesel generator requires fuel (whereas the PowerCube doesn’t), the flip side is needing to move 20+ PowerCubes to equal the output of one diesel generator.”
The press release
