Polish-designed solar boat wins Dutch challenge

A team from the Gdansk University of Technology has won an international regatta of boats powered by solar energy the Frisian Solar Challenge in Holland. A team of two covered the distance of 220 km in 19 hours 25 minutes 8 seconds.

Students and academics of the Korab Ship Technology Science Circle at the Gdansk University of Technology participated in the competition alongside 50 international teams. Helmsman Wojciech Leśniewski, assistant at the Ocean Technology and Ship Building Department told the Polish News Agency (PAP) that the boat that came in second needed almost an hour longer to complete the race. “We won four phases and we took the third place in the last and shortest one” he added.

The sportsmen competed in two categories – class A – single boats and class B – double boats. The winning double boat is equipped with a unique measuring system which registers 12 different parameters i.e. sun exposure, speed, water, air resistance and waves. “This system can plan rational energy use because solar regattas are a game for excelling engineers. Knowledge, strategy and reliable design count” the participants commented.

Polish Market

ECONOMIC MONITOR

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• ● In December 2009 and January 2010, as in previous months in the second half of 2009, the Polish economy stood out against other countries in terms of GDP growth. Poland’s economic growth was higher than projected and higher than in other European countries.
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• In 2009 construction output increased by 3.7%.
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• Retail sales increase in most product groups.
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• On the Warsaw Stock Exchange, stock prices were very volatile in January 2010.
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• At the end of December 2009 the registered unemployment rate (claimant count rate) amounted to 11.9% versus 11.4% in November.
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• At the end of January the president signed the 2010 budget bill into law. The bill was adopted by the parliament on December 18.
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• In the fourth quarter of 2009 the Polish economy turned out to be more resistant to the global crisis than had been projected and than the economies of Polish neighbours, something which boosts optimism in forecasts for 2010 and the next years.
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WEEKLY MARKET ANALYSIS

Retail sales up again in June
Retail sales growth in nominal terms accelerated in June to 6.4% y-o-y from 4.3% y-o-y in May. The increase was higher than expected. In real terms, retail sales growth accelerated to 4.5% y-o-y from 2.0% y-o-y. June was a consecutive month with retail sales figures stronger than expected, which indicates that consumption is recovering after it slowed significantly at the beginning of the year. Private consumption is driven by an improvement on the labour market coupled with a rise in disposable incomes. In Q2 2010 retail sales grew by around 3% y-o-y in nominal terms and around 1% y-o-y in real terms. On the basis of retail sales and industrial production data, it can be estimated that the GDP growth rate was close to 3%.

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