Explorer has been built for RiverQuest, an award winning not for profit organisation with a mission to impact people’s relationships to the environment through unique river based education and adventure experiences. Standards based learning programmes with themes ranging from environmental science and regional history to physical science and mathematics have been provided for more than 75,000 on board students since RiverQuest started in 1995.

‘Explorer is a tangible demonstration of our new Sustainability Education Programme and it reflects the ‘leading edge’ nature of our mission, said RiverQuest executive director Karl Thomas. ‘Together with a diverse team of marine and green design experts from industry and academia, we have created an entirely new approach to designing and building marine vessels by applying sustainable design to virtually every aspect of its construction.’

Because there are no official standards for the design of ‘green’ boats, RiverQuest assembled a team of naval architects, marine and electric drive engineers, and green building experts. This combination of global expertise in boat design, alternative propulsion systems, and input from the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) programme with regard to design process and standards has resulted in a series of green applications that are claimed to be completely new to the marine industry.

After a thorough evaluation of existing technology by alternative fuel marine engineers Alion JJMA, designers of the yet to be built San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority Fuel Cell Ferry, it was determined that a diesel electric hybrid system was the best propulsion alternative. The system was provided by Siemens Energy and Automation. The flexibility and exceptional environmental performance of this design is coupled with high reliability and proven technology.

The engines will run on a biodiesel fuel blend and the system explicitly provides for the future addition of new power sources such as a fuel cell, solar panels and micro wind turbines. A 1.5kW solar array will be added to Explorer’s roof later this year.

Explorer will reduce the total energy needed by the RiverQuest fleet by over 35,000kW hours per year, or nearly 50%. Emissions of CO2, SOx and particulates will also be significantly reduced. The development of green certification for water craft would bring significant health benefits to Explorer’s home base in Allegheny County, where more than a third of diesel particulate pollution comes from the 28,000 registered recreational water craft that run on the region’s rivers.

In addition to the hybrid propulsion system, the boat also features the world’s first marine Application of LEED design and construction standards, resulting in environmentally friendly coatings and paints, architectural windows, HVAC systems,  a hull made of 100% certified steel, and water conservation technologies including the use of river water and waterless waste systems.