Stena hopes for wind turbines pay-off
Stena estimates that the turbines will generate 23,000 kWh a year for the ship’s electrical grid.
Retro-fitting two wind turbines on Stena Jutlandica has cost SEK 1m but the owners hope to recoup the unique investment in a year at most through significant savings in fuel consumption.
Stena Line said the two 4kW vertical wind turbines, installed on the bow deck, make the 29,6901gt ship the first passenger ferry in the world to boast onboard wind power.
Stena spokesman Jesper Waltersson told MJ at the end of June, “The tests have been underway for a couple of weeks and need to run for half a year to a year to give accurate figures (on savings) and to provide experience on how the turbines function at sea.”
Stena estimated however that the turbines, mounted on 4m high masts, will generate 23,000 kWh a year for the ship’s electrical grid, equivalent to the domestic electricity consumption of four homes during that period.
Robert Akerlund, Stena Line technical and HR director said the electricity was being used to power the lighting on the ship’s car deck.
Stena also said the turbines will contribute to a reduction in air resistance, saving between 80 and 90 tons of fuel a year, the equivalent of heating 28 houses with oil. That will in turn mean a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 269 tons a year and in sulphur emissions of 1.7 tons, according to the owner.
Waltersson told MJ the installation had been carried out by Stena Line itself in cooperation with Urban Green Energy, the US based company which built the wind turbines. Their use on the 184m long 28m wide Stena Jutlandica is part of a company environmental programme which involves about 200 projects.
“Stena Line has a tradition of leading when it comes to the development of different types of new solutions”, said Robert Akerlund.
By Tom Todd
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
