A new era in maritime travel: Electric boats

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/10/29/climate-change-electric-boats/

Source:  By Justin Sondel, The Washington Post. 

Excerpt: NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — With the sun streaming into the Niagara Gorge, visitors lined up in socially distanced groups waiting to shuffle onto the Maid of the Mist, the boats that have ferried tourists to the base of Niagara Falls for the past 174 years. Whether they knew it or not, these passengers were experiencing a new era of maritime transportation: boats powered by electricity. Earlier this month, the Maid of the Mist launched two electric catamarans into the gorge, the first of their kind in North America. The hulking double-deckers run on dual banks of lithium-ion batteries. All the power used to charge the batteries is supplied by the nearby Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, one of the most productive hydroelectric facilities in the United States, making the boats a zero-emission operation. ...On the other side of the country, Washington is in the process of electrifying its ferry fleet — the largest in the United States — with the goal of cutting diesel fuel consumption in half by 2040. ...For Maid of the Mist President Chris Glynn, the decision to electrify the fleet was easy. When the company began looking into replacing its two aging diesel vessels in 2018, a consultant proposed electric boats. He and others at the company jumped at the opportunity, he said. “As soon as we heard that, we knew that was something we were most interested in doing and wanted to pursue it,” Glynn said, adding that it was important to him to protect the waters of the Niagara River and be part of a larger movement to move into a green future. “It’s a great sustainability statement. Many people appreciate that.” ... [Can airplanes go green?] Justin Miller, chief of the inspections division with the U.S. Coast Guard, said one of the biggest challenges was ensuring the battery system could operate safely...to make sure that the massive batteries could power the boats without failing or catching fire, a rare hazard with lithium-ion batteries. Each vessel is powered by two 3,300-pound battery banks. The boats are recharged between runs at the dock by plugging two high-voltage lines into a charging station for seven minutes. The charge is more than enough to power the boats for their 20-minute tours of the gorge. ...The new boats offer an uninterrupted connection to the falls without the loud hum from the old diesel engines or a view obstructed by fume-spewing exhaust stacks. “The ride is smooth,” Glynn said. “There’s virtually no noise other than nature itself, the sound of the falls. It’s almost like a sailing experience.”.... 

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