Solar Panels on the Upper Deck of the Augira Leader

After four voyages the solar panels on the upper of the NYK car carrier Auriga Leader have performed better than was expected but  have also demonstrated how far there is to go in harnessing solar power.

The ship has generated 32,300 KW hours of electricity, the equivalent of seven months of electricity by 17 households in Japan, which was 1.4 times greater than that generated during land-based tests. Nevertheless, the electricity was the equivalent of only 0.05% of the ship’s propulsion power and 1% of its onboard electricity consumption.

The test voyages were also meant to determine if the solar panels would handle the demands of being installed on the top deck of a car carrier.   So far the panels have survived severe conditions in heavy storms, with constant rain, lightning and pounding from wave heights of up to 4 m.

Solar panels efficient, but have a long way to go

“The experiment is part of NYK’s Cool Earth Project, which is looking at a range of environmental improvements. The company hopes to use solar, wind power, cold ironing and fuel cells to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50%.”