Related Sections: Green Tech Vehicles
First partially-solar-powered ship launches
Tankers are essential in today's world, being the main way we get products and oil from continent to continent. Unfortunately, they use a ton of fuel to haul their cargo, driving up shipping costs for everyone. Now, the first partially-solar-powered cargo ship has launched in Japan.
Nippon Oil and Nippon Yuesen spent $1.68 million to install 328 solar panels on the top of a 656-foot, 60,000 ton ship that carries 6,400 cars across the ocean. Unfortunately, it only generates 40 kilowatts of power, which is 0.3% of the engine power and 7% of lighting and other systems. It's a start.
Deccan Herald, Via Engadget
By Anonymous at 1:13 PM ON 12/25/08
328 panals to produce 0.3% - and idiots go on claiming solar is effeciant. The cost of maintaince will most likely be higher than any fuel saving.
By Buddy Love at 4:46 PM ON 12/25/08
You can't even spell or write correctly..no one can take someone who can't use English seriously.
Panels.. Efficient... Maintenance. You suck. And reading stuff on a blog does not make you an expert. Rot.
By Yatchman at 11:55 PM ON 12/28/08
A very good step indeed. i've heard about "skysail" which is also a commendable step in curtailing fossil fuel expenditure. hopefully we have a better energy generation ratio in future...
By Anon at 8:09 AM ON 07/16/09
328 panels creating 40kW of power means about 120W panels, which means about 328 square meter of space, or 18m * 18m space. No wonder it doesn't show well in those pictures, that is tiny compared to that ship size.
Quite expensive panels too: 1.68M$ for 40kW or $42/W. That is about ten times what cheapest panels cost currently. Just read about guy with 4kW system that cost 30k$ so they could have got that with about 300 thousand instead of 1.68 million. I wonder who got that excess 1.3 million.
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Anon:
328 panels creating 40kW of power means about 120W panels, which means about 328 square meter of space, or 18m * 1...More »