Plug-and-play solar decks for shipping

Wattlab’s expanding its solar power deck offering to seagoing shipping. SolarDeck is a modular and scalable system of deck-mounted solar panels and builds on the company’s earlier endeavours within the inland shipping sector, where it made Solar Flatrack (a modular solar energy system consisting of movable and stackable integrated solar panels and inverters).

SolarDeck is said to yield significant reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Moreover, based on installation on a seagoing general cargo vessel, SolarDeck combines substantial savings via Fuel EU Maritime and EU ETS regulations and an expected return on investment of 3-5 years, the company says.

“At all times during the design of SolarDeck, we prioritised the shipowner’s requirements. We know that ‘time is money’. That’s why the SolarDeck can be installed in a minimum amount of time using container twist lock fittings. It also does not impact normal loading and unloading procedures,” says Wattlab’s CEO Bo Salet. “However, we also know – for cargo shipowners especially – that ‘space is money’. In the event of a deck load such as offshore wind blades, the ship’s crew can store the SolarDeck inside the volume of a 20-foot container, thus freeing up the deck for cargo.”

Wattlab has spent the last 18 months developing and testing the new system on board Vertom’s 7,280dwt general purpose dry cargo vessel Anette, in a project co-financed by the European Union’s Just Transition Fund. The results from the testing phase are positive. More information is available on Wattlab’s website.

“The test results show that SolarDeck performs well in the tougher environment – in terms of salinity and rougher sea states – of coastal shipping. Because salt water can drain freely from the solar panels, there’s no chance of a salt crust forming. As such, SolarDeck generates the expected power output levels,” Salet explains. “Furthermore, the system is robust enough to withstand storms as well as the usual day-to-day activities on board a seagoing cargo ship – while staying safe at all times.”

Based on the test results (Anette is 119 metres long and 14 metres wide), Wattlab predicts reductions of 20 MT fuel and 68 MT CO₂ emissions per year for this coaster-type.

Innovators for the shipping industry have been busy in the past decade working with wind wings – or sails as they’re traditionally known – to add to cargo ships. These claim massive reductions in energy consumption, of up to 30 per cent.