Investigation of Auxiliary Power Potentials of Solar Photovoltaic Applications of Dry Bulk Carrier Ships

The increase in world seaborne trade over the past decade due to global economic and population expansion has resulted in a corresponding increase of world shipping fleet with even greater size and power requirements. The bulk of these ships use cheap and widely available fossil fuels, mainly oil for operation but which has deleterious effects on the environment. In order to address environmental concerns in the shipping sector, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), responding to the global call to reduce greenhouse gases emissions from international shipping adopted technical and operational measures. These are to ensure efficient energy management on ships and have led to the application of many innovative technologies including the use of renewable energies and alternative fuels on ships to minimize fossil fuel consumption and reduce emissions. However, in order to achieve a substantial emissions reduction in international shipping, the potential applicability of a technology which utilizes a universal renewable energy resource on the largest ship type in international shipping fleet should be investigated. This research focuses on investigating the potential of Solar Photovoltaic technology on dry bulk carriers using a developed methodology and Levelised cost of energy concept as the basis for comparison. The results of this research can be used to guide decision makers about the potentials of Solar Photovoltaic technology on dry bulk carriers in general whilst its developed methodology may be useful in the specific context for determining which ships and under what circumstances solar PV is an option.