DOCKED SHIP POWERED BY SUN

Solar energy helps to power huge ship at Port of Long Beach
Ronald D. White, July 2, 2009 (LA Times)

"The huge car carrier ship called the M/V Auriga Leader idled at the Port of Long Beach, burning through enough electricity to power 100 homes as workers loaded and unloaded a fleet of Toyotas.

"But unlike any of the diesel-spewing, power-draining vessels that travel here, the Auriga Leader sports 328 solar panels on its top deck -- a small array that provides 10% of the energy used by the giant ship while she is docked."

A deck full of solar panels at a dock full of sunshine. (click to enlarge)

"The ship -- part of a demonstration project by the Port of Long Beach, Toyota and Tokyo-based shipping company NYK Line -- is the first to use solar energy to help fill all of the vessel's power needs…The practical effect is that the ship is burning less diesel fuel as its engines idle to power the ship's electrical systems. The ship's solar array can generate about 40 kilowatts or about enough power to run 10 average homes.

"Port officials, under pressure to reduce air pollution from ships as they idle at the docks, welcomed the experiment…Richard Steinke, the port's executive director, acknowledged that the facility had a long way to go before it could claim that it had substantially reduced diesel emissions. But he said the ship added one more element of clean technology to the port…"

A closer look. (click to enlarge)

"The shipping company is still evaluating how well the panels work, including whether they will hold up under the corrosive effects of salt sea air…[T]he 60,000-ton Auriga Leader is fairly large at 665 feet in length. But it's also a fairly simple vessel in terms of what it needs to do once it arrives in port…

"…[It] resembles a very large, multi-level parking garage when viewed from inside the ship. Other vessels are larger and more complex, and using alternative energy to power them would be more difficult…These vessels are also required to provide power to any number of refrigerated cargo containers carrying perishable items. On average, such ships can need as much as six megawatts of power, or enough to provide electricity to 4,000 homes…Crude oil supertankers need even more fuel. It takes eight megawatts of electricity…Port officials say that shows there is no single technology that is going to quickly reduce a ship's diesel emissions…"