Retrofitting Vessel with Solar and Wind Renewable Energy Sources as an Example of the Croatia Study-Case

Abstract

The ship’s power system is one of the most important systems on board. It is designed for uninterrupted power supply to all ship consumers under different conditions of exploitation. When designing a ship, various optimizations are conducted to build the ship as economically and environmentally friendly as possible. The paper aims to analyze the possibility of applying renewable energy sources (RES), particularly solar and wind energy, on an existing vessel by conducting technical and economic analysis. Data for the solar hour’s number and wind distribution are gathered from the six locations in the Adriatic Sea over 32 years period. Firstly, it was investigated if data were position dependent or independent. Performing a Pearson correlation coefficient and an ANOVA analysis with F-test, it was concluded that the RES analysis is position-independent (p > 0.05, p = 0.826). Secondly, the energy system model created in Simulink was used for the analysis of the electrical network fundamental parameters. Finally, the object of the analysis is the total costs of procurement, installation, and maintenance of the system within a period of 25 years. Consequences are savings in the cost of exploitation and reduction of harmful gas emissions. The use of solar energy would result in savings of 111,556 l of diesel fuel, while the savings from wind energy would be 170,274 l of diesel fuel for 25 years.

Adaptation of Existing Vessels in Accordance with Decarbonization Requirements—Case Study—Mediterranean Port

“…The study conducted a technical and economic analysis of the feasibility of using renewable energy sources (RES), specifically solar and wind energy, on an existing vessel. Using solar energy would result in 111.556 l of diesel fuel savings over a 25-year period [19].…”

Development and Research of a Small Electric-Powered Vessel Using Photovoltaic Cells

“…The calculation of the mass-dimensional characteristics of the battery cells is based on the calculated required capacity for a given driving time on electric traction. The total capacity is determined depending on the set mains voltage and the required total capacity of the vessel, which is according to the methodology given in [6].…”

“…The efficiency of using photovoltaic cells as an additional power source of the vessel is largely due to the indicators of insolation for the region of operation of the vessel during the entire navigation . The total capacity of the modules installed on the deck of the superstructure is determined by the formula (6) where k SB is a correction factor that takes into account the efficiency of the system and the operating conditions of the batteries; is the power of the photovoltaic module. Determined by the technical characteristics;…”

Unmanned Surface Vehicle Thruster Fault Diagnosis via Vibration Signal Wavelet Transform and Vision Transformer under Varying Rotational Speed Conditions

“…In maritime environments, systems are more susceptible to faults than in other environments due to environmental perturbations [ 1 , 2 ], corrosive conditions [ 3 , 4 ], and floating debris [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Moreover, recent research on navigational efficiency [ 8 , 9 ], use of renewable energy [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ], situation awareness [ 11 , 15 ], improved communication methods [ 16 , 17 ], etc., applied to surface platforms is broadening spatial and temporal boundaries for unmanned surface platforms. Hence, with the anticipated expansion of unmanned vessels’ operational scope in the near future, if a vessel becomes immobilized due to a malfunction in the middle of the ocean, the time and cost for retrieval can be substantial.…”