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Solar Vessel Carries Cargo

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Solar Vessel Carries Cargo

Unread postby Subjectivist » Wed 25 Jan 2017, 19:09:06

This one is for Baha, our solar power true beliver!

In October, the solar electric delivery vessel Solar Sal departed Lockport N.Y carrying 4 tons of cargo. The final destination, 300 miles away, was Cascades Tissue Group’s Mechanicville facility in New York. The vessel is believed to be the first-ever cargo transported across the Erie Canal without the use of any fossil fuels. It was powered exclusively by the sun, its solar arrays and the storage capacity of its onboard batteries.

The vessel was named after the mule in the 1905 song “Low Bridge” after Erie Canal barge traffic moved from mule power to engines.

“Cascades Tissue Group is honored to receive the first shipment of recycled cardboard from Solar Sal,” said Thierry Trudel, Cascades Tissue Group vice president of marketing and communications. “The paper and packaging industry consumes a large amount of air, water and energy so the company is always looking for innovative methods that reduce impact on the environment.”

During Solar Sal’s journey, Professor-emeritus David Borton of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, showed how the vessel could proceed solely on just the incoming power from available sunlight. The boat performed well, despite significant overcast and rain for several days. She easily reached her top speed of 7 knots when called for, and in direct sunlight could sustain a 5 knot cruising speed (same as commercial tugs travel in the canals) using only 4kW of power.

The vessel actually runs at its peak performance using only half power. Given that the on board batteries can hold enough charge for an additional 50 mile run after dark, Solar Sal theoretically has no limits for canal usage other than the need for the crew to get a good night’s rest.

Since the solar arrays can deliver 5kW on a really nice day, a reasonable speed can be achieved while more energy flows into the boat’s batteries than it is using – in essence the boat is refueling while underway. Given the nature of their endurance run, the inclement weather required slower speeds to achieve the same effect, but crossing Oneida Lake’s 20 mile length, Solar Sal’s gauges indicated that they were indeed taking on more “fuel” than being consumed by its twin Torqueedo electric motors to do the crossing – this is a very unusual powerboat, indeed!

“Solar Sal returns the sun's power to marine transportation in commercial and recreational ways,” said Professor Borton. “The canals are still available as a vastly underutilized resource for both the environmentally-sustainable delivery of cargo and the carrying of people, whether as a tour boat for hire or a customized, private yacht. That is what we’ve envisioned for Solar Sal.”

“It was fitting that we brought Solar Sal to Mechanicville,” says Chamber of Southern Saratoga County President/CEO Pete Bardunias. “Not only are the city docks the most modern port on the Champlain Canal, but from these docks we have been working with alternative energy marine transportation ever since the sailing vessel Ceres made its trips through Mechanicville in 2013 and ’14. Solar Sal is the first vessel to use absolutely zero fossil fuel, and the dock proved to be a very convenient place to unload its cargo for the final delivery to Cascades.”

Carrying cardboard may not be the best use of Solar Sal’s capabilities, but it was a great way to prove the concept and may pave the way to other ideas. Because the design can accommodate a 12 ton payload it is very versatile, with multiple possible uses. For example, if finished as a private trawler-style yacht, there’s room for a cozy cabin for cruising boaters. Substitute a module with open seating and it could be an equally effective tour boat (the weight of 40 passengers was carried on the delivery voyage). Other possibilities include short haul cargoes of heavy goods, recyclables, trash, or even fuel oil (why use fuel to move fuel?). Finally, Solar Sal could be a useful platform to create floating farmers markets or small scale transportation of food to downstate New York residents.


http://m.mhlnews.com/transportation-dis ... erie-canal
II Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
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Re: Solar Vessel Carries Cargo

Unread postby Tanada » Fri 27 Jan 2017, 10:03:39

The navy had solar powered ships right up until 1918 and still has one in commission.
http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/constitut ... 74-106.jpg

USS Constitution 768-549.jpg
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One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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Re: Solar Vessel Carries Cargo

Unread postby lpetrich » Sun 17 Feb 2019, 18:13:14

Strictly speaking, that is a wind-powered ship. Wind power has been used for millennia to propel boats and ships, and it is still used by many recreational boaters.

Wind power went out of style because (1) fossil fuels made possible much larger ships and (2) fossil fuels are more controllable. However, wind power does not require any fuel, and a common compromise is to use both: motorsailers. A premodern version of this sort of hybrid was rower-sailers, propelled by both their crew and the wind. Like triremes and Viking longships.

This means that in a renewable-energy economy, ships will have to be powered by synthetic fuels. Such fuels have all the positive aspects of fossil fuels, while being able to be made with renewable energy. However, synfuels continue to be a weak spot in renewable-energy development.
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