Father and son off to South Pole on green energy alone

A POLAR explorer from the dale has embarked on the first expedition to the South Pole powered only by clean energy technologies. 

Robert Swan, who was the first man to walk to the North and South poles, has set off on a 600-mile eight-week journey on foot accompanied by his son, Barney. It is the first time in polar history that explorers will survive off renewable energy for their cooking, heating and power needs.

Mr Swan, 61, grew up in Barnard Castle but now lives in California. He founded the 2041 organisation in 1984 after seeing the effects of environmental damage on the polar icecaps. He has since dedicated his life to the preservation of the “last great wilderness on Earth”, the Antarctic. Through recycling, renewable energy and sustainability he hopes to try to combat the effects of climate change.

The South Pole Energy Challenge began on November 15 from the Union glacier base camp. During their trek the father and son will be using cutting-edge renewable technologies which are robust enough to work in one of the harshest environments on Earth. They will also be aided by 24 hours of daylight everyday. Technologies they are carrying include a solar ice melter designed by NASA, second generation biofuel from woodchips in Bangalore, an algae cooking stove from Germany, Goal Zero lithium batteries and passive solar heated thermos.

Mountaineer Martin Barnett and filmmaker Kyle O’Donoghue will also join them on the journey, which represents the beginning of a seven-year campaign, The ClimateForce Challenge. Their goal following this venture is to clean up 326 million tonnes of CO2.

The expedition is being sponsored by a number of leading names including Shell Fuels, Samsung, Toyota and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Barney Swan, 23, said: “The 60-day expedition to the South Pole powered off renewable energy will take everything out of me and the team. However, it is our stern belief that we must be an active part of the clean energy transition that is happening globally instead of just talking about it. The deeper this project engulfs me, the more I realise cleaning up after yourself is not easy. It comes at a sacrifice.

“My end goal, if I ever make it to having grey hair, is that I can look back and know we collectively cleaned up our environment before it was too late, or at the least, know I was part of a group of people who tried.”