Retrofitting Vessel with Solar and Wind Renewable Energy Sources as an Example of the Croatia Study-Case

Abstract

The ship’s power system is one of the most important systems on board. It is designed for uninterrupted power supply to all ship consumers under different conditions of exploitation. When designing a ship, various optimizations are conducted to build the ship as economically and environmentally friendly as possible. The paper aims to analyze the possibility of applying renewable energy sources (RES), particularly solar and wind energy, on an existing vessel by conducting technical and economic analysis. Data for the solar hour’s number and wind distribution are gathered from the six locations in the Adriatic Sea over 32 years period. Firstly, it was investigated if data were position dependent or independent. Performing a Pearson correlation coefficient and an ANOVA analysis with F-test, it was concluded that the RES analysis is position-independent (p > 0.05, p = 0.826). Secondly, the energy system model created in Simulink was used for the analysis of the electrical network fundamental parameters. Finally, the object of the analysis is the total costs of procurement, installation, and maintenance of the system within a period of 25 years. Consequences are savings in the cost of exploitation and reduction of harmful gas emissions. The use of solar energy would result in savings of 111,556 L of diesel fuel, while the savings from wind energy would be 170,274 L of diesel fuel for 25 years.

Keywords

• renewable energy sources
• solar energy
• wind energy
• model
• power management system