Auriga Leader Solar Powered Ship

Wispa — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:33:51 +0000

Recently docked in Long Beach, California, was the Japanese owned solar powered ship, the Auriga Leader. Labeled as the first commercial cargo ship utilizing solar power technology to reduce carbon emissions by its massive diesel engines. With over 300 solar photovoltaic solar panels mounted along its top deck, the Auriga Leader hopes to supply around 15% of its electrical power when docked in port.

She has a cargo capacity of 60,000 gross tons that enables her to carry 6,400 cars. With a length of 665 feet and 100 feet deep, it cost 1.6 million dollars to fit the ship out with the augmented solar arrays, cabling and monitoring equipment.

The ships demand is 2,000 KW for all its electrical systems, from lighting to navigational equipment. Ultimately the ships design could allow it to be fitted out to produce 25% of its needs, but as this was experimental it was designed to test out the working conditions of producing solar power at sea.

Worldwide, the 15 largest cargo ships emit pollutants which would equal the CO2 produced by the earths 720 million cars. While this will not reduce those emissions by much, it will reduce its in-port contamination of the air. With busy cargo ports, ships along with on land traffic, increasing the air quality for those who work and live near by is beneficial for their long term health.

While still experimental, the lessons learned from the Auriga Leader, expanded to whole fleets is a step, small but still a step, in the right direction towards a better future.

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Auriga Leader Solar Powered Ship