FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,948
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Post by FNS on May 24, 2018 23:08:24 GMT -8
The mods should rename this thread:
"JMII'S PROPULSION SYSTEMS TO BE CONVERTED TO ASSISTED (CHARGED BY PISTON GENERATORS/SHORE POWER) BATTERY POWER"
As I said above, they're already electrically powered vessels using Diesel-Electric generators.
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EDIT: With the contents of the former thread being moved over to this one, this posting will be deleted June 1, 2018. The below two messages, "This thread can just slowly fade away...." and "So it's going to get deleted?" should also be deleted. Thanks, "Kahloke".
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 25, 2018 5:21:46 GMT -8
This thread can just slowly fade away....
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Post by PNW_ferrynerd on May 25, 2018 7:01:33 GMT -8
This thread can just slowly fade away.... So it's going to get deleted? And one quick thing, I have no idea how to make a signature good enough.
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Post by chokai on May 30, 2018 8:06:00 GMT -8
Why would they go "Electric"? As Barnacle noted to be environmentally friendly but also to ostensibly save $$$. Our power is already very very cheap and WSF will be able to make long term contracts to buy that power in bulk from major providers overnight when they charge the boats. As a result they will get excellent rates as the providers save money from not have to take power generation capacity offline overnight when consumption drops way down which is expensive and hard on some types of equipment. Modern diesels though are very efficient though so the $$$ savings still might be marginal, someone would have to do the math in detail. Similar to the bulk rates someone like WSF would get in areas like California that have variable power rates for consumers (unlike here for the most part) some electric cars (esp Tesla's) are "smart" and look at the current rates before charging optimizing the cost for the owner, mostly charging overnight.
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Post by arrrrmatey on May 30, 2018 16:11:20 GMT -8
Overall, switching to battery powered vessels will be the future of ferry travel. As someone with a bit of experience in the marine electrification field I can say that there are a lot of technical challenges, but the battery technologies themselves are improving rapidly. However, while charging at night would be absolutely ideal for both the ferry operator and electricity provider, it is not something that can happen right away. Due to the space taken up by the battery (and capital cost), these systems are usually sized to provide enough propulsion and auxiliary power for a single one way trip, plus some reserve. The vessel is then charged at every turn around. There are several ferries in operation in Europe that work this way. This means that charging stations need to be able to transfer several MW-hr in 20 to 40 minutes. This is not a challenge for the battery, but for the utility provider it represents a constantly fluctuating largw load. For hydroelectric turbines (where most of BC's power comes from) this is not such a big deal, but for other forms of generation it is not that easy. One option is for the ferry operator to have another set of batteries at each terminal which can rapidly discharge into the vessels packs when in port. This allows the grid load to be smooth throughout the day but is a huge capital cost.
The above is a rundown of how fully battery powered vessels work. Battery assisted or hybrid are similar, with the exception that the battery does not provide all of the propulsion power (or at least not at all times).
The fact that BC ferries hasn't jumped on this yet is such a shame. They have several short routes that would be ideal for full electrification, and a utility provider that may be able to provide them with good rates. Kudos to WSF for pushing for electrification - though it would be better utilized in BC where near 100% of our power is "emissions free".
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Post by Kahloke on May 31, 2018 5:36:54 GMT -8
Bump to signify that I deleted the newly created JMII Electric thread and merged those posts into this existing thread. We would appreciate it greatly if forum members search for existing threads to post in before creating a new thread.
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Post by pacificcat99 on Oct 25, 2019 7:38:08 GMT -8
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Post by Kahloke on Oct 25, 2019 7:58:40 GMT -8
Yep. This has been in the planning stages for some time now. And, this is a bump to signify that I moved the above post into this thread.
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Post by Kahloke on Nov 10, 2019 19:11:51 GMT -8
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