Clean transportation advances with hybrid-electric ferries

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Washington is taking the first steps to clean up one of the biggest pollution sources in state transportation by switching from diesel ferries to electric-hybrids. The state is converting some of its biggest and dirtiest ferries, and building an all-new 144-car electric ferry with the option to buy four more.

“We’re going electric, which means a lot of jobs for shipyard workers,” Inslee said. “And it gives us more of a fighting chance to save the things we cherish most — our land, our air, our water and our children’s health.”

Gov. Jay Inslee recently issued an Executive Order to transition to an all zero-emission fleet.

While maritime culture and industry has been a backbone of our state’s economy, the industry has also been a major source of pollution, especially through ferries.

Washington’s ferry system is the largest consumer of diesel fuel in the state, with ferries using more than 18 million gallons of diesel every year. It’s also the largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions in state transportation. While ferries only account for 6 percent of working boats in the Puget Sound, they generate 60 percent of the diesel pollution particles and 50 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from these vessels — creating 220,000 metric tons of emissions every year.

https://medium.com/wagovernor/clean-transportation-advances-with-hybrid-electric-ferries-85d2db1f902b

[progree]

1. Is "electric-hybrid" the same as all-electric? The article doesn't say. Why is "-hybrid" attached?

[caraher]

2. No, they're not the same

The article says they're buying one small all-electric ferry with an option to buy four more. Meanwhile they're converting some current pure diesel ferries to what seem to be plug-in hybrid design.

More details are in this earlier article on conversion plans.

The state’s larger Mark II ferries currently are powered by four diesel engines that each drive a generator. The generators make the electricity that powers the propulsion system, pumps, lights and other operations. At any given time, three of the diesel generators are in use.

In the conversion, two of the diesel generator sets are removed and replaced with a bank of lithium batteries. The batteries are twice the size of the equipment that they’re replacing, but there’s room for them. Compared to other ships, ferries have a larger below-deck footprint given their need for plenty of deck space to transport a maximum number of vehicles.

Keeping half of the diesel generators in place provides the option of using the engines to recharge the batteries if and when shore-side electricity is not available — something like how a Prius works. Using the engines to recharge the batteries can cut fuel use 30-to-50 percent compared to running the ferry’s propulsion off the engines directly. The ferries making the Seattle-to-Bainbridge Island run, for example, use about 5,000 gallons of diesel daily to make 10 round-trip crossings.

[progree]

3. Thanks much for the info 😂 n/t

[hunter]

4. Plug-in and sail: Meet the electric ferry pioneers

"Have a pleasant journey," blurts the tannoy, as the engines ramp up and we pull away from the harbour in Fynshav, southern Denmark.

I'm aboard Ellen, an electric-powered ferry, sailing to the island of Ærø, in the west Baltic Sea.

On the ship's bridge, Captain Thomas Larsen stands behind a panel with controls and electronic charts. "What I can see on these two screens is a power management system," he points out. "It shows me all my batteries. And how far I can expect to go."

"The main difference is that I don't have a full fuel tank. I need to think a lot about how I'm using my power."

--more--

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50233206

There's a lot more in this article.

I sometimes get nostalgic for the diesel smell sometimes, it reminds me of ocean fishing trips with my dad when I was a kid, or trips to Catalina Island, but that doesn't last long. Marine diesel engines are terrible for the environment.