Japan to Send their Ships Solar

August 26th, 2008 by Joshua S Hill

With the entire planet in a crazy attempt to make everything from transport to washing green, it comes as no real surprise to see another industry take up the challenge. And, as with a lot of things technological, Japan is leading the way.

Japan’s biggest shipping company – Nippon Yusen KK – is going to be working with Nippon Oil Corp to develop solar panels capable of partially powering their vessels.

The plans will see Nippon Yusen invest approximately 150 million yen, $1.4 million USD, into the development of the solar panel system to be designed by Nippon Oil. The panels will be capable of generating 40 kilowatts of electricity, compared to a 3.5 kilowatt generating solar panel that you might install on your own home.

The panels will be placed atop 60,000 ton car carriers being used by Toyota Motor Corp, and save up to 6.5% of fuel oil normally used in powering the large diesel engines. Such a system is hoped to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by between 1 an 2 percent, which equates to about 20 tons a year, according to Hideyuki Dohi, general manager at Nippon Oil’s energy system development department.

And when are they looking to do this? “If it’s possible, we want to aim for the full commercialization of the system in the next three to five years,” Nippon Oil Executive Vice President Ikutoshi Matsumura told reporters.

Image Courtesy of Nippon Yusen KK

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