Page 12 - Port of Baltimore Magazine Jan/Feb 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
■
January/February 2013
The car carrier is equipped with
a hybrid-power supply system
that uses solar panels to charge
lithium-ion batteries while the
ship is at sea.
Environmental Stewardship at the Port of Baltimore
>
>
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Green
Port
BY NANCY MENEFEE JACKSON
MOL Emerald Ace
Takes Sunny
Approach to Zero Emissions
T
he
Emerald Ace
recently called
on Baltimore carrying a cargo
of automobiles and giving Port
personnel their first look at an exciting new
technology that results in zero emissions
while the ship is berthed.
Built for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) by
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., the car
carrier is equipped with a hybrid-power
supply system that uses solar panels to
charge lithium-ion batteries while the
ship is at sea. The hybrid ship then uses
this power while berthed, allowing the
diesel generating system to be completely
shut off. Conventional ships use diesel-
powered generators to supply electricity
on board while the ship is docked.
Solar panels installed on the vessel’s
deck are built of double-sided glass
and are extremely durable, designed to
hold up to both wind and salt. Some 768
panels provide 160kW of electricity.
The electricity is stored in 320,000
lithium batteries, which are also used in
personal computers and other applications.
The batteries store some 2.2 MWh of
electricity, enough to power about 200
standard homes. MOL jointly developed the
system with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and
the Energy Company of Panasonic Group.
The 199-meter-long
Emerald Ace
can
carry 6,400 cars and has been sailing
since June 2012. The hybrid ship is part
of MOL’s Senpaku ISHIN project, the
company’s concept for next-generation
vessels. This groundbreaking initiative
aims to protect the environment in a sub-
stantive way by reducing CO
2
emissions
using feasible technologies.
COURTESY OF MITSUI O.S.K. LINES
