Dutch technology company Wattlab announced that it has installed a photovoltaic system on a diesel-electric multipurpose cargo vessel owned and operated by the Rotterdam-based shipping company Vertom.
The 78 kW PV array comprises 44 Solar Flatracks, which the company describes as movable, stackable thin plates with integrated solar panels and inverters. According to Wattlab, the system was deployed onboard within a single day at the Port of Harlingen.
“For shipowners, time is money, so speed and ease of use are important. Furthermore, we know that space is money too. If the panels need to be removed to accommodate special cargo, the crew can easily stack and store them within the footprint of a single 20-foot container,” said Wattlab CEO Bo Salet.
“During the pilots, the test results showed that the Solar Flatrack system performs well in the tough coastal shipping environment,” said Thomas van Meerkerk, Business Development Manager at Vertom.
Wattlab also said that several tests conducted by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have confirmed the system can significantly reduce CO2 emissions and increase return on investment (ROI) in vessel operations.
“Another benefit is that the panels can stay on the hatch covers during loading and discharging operations,” the company added. “The crew was sceptical at first, fearing a lot of extra work. However, they soon learned that in practice, Solar Flatracks are easy to use and require minimal maintenance. For example, there’s no salt crust formation, because the water can drain freely from the panels.”
A similar system was deployed on the De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard in July.
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