Page 17: of Marine News Magazine (February 2024)

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Going Green ernize ferry operations, replace aging implemented to address grid and space increased power requirements. That vessels, and upgrade ferry terminals. constraints with electri? cation. can involve installing new conduit,

The grants are critical to helping WETA is one of many U.S. ferry transformers, duct banks, switchgear, operators meet goals for reducing operators contemplating a sustain- and utility disconnects.

greenhouse gas emission set by regu- able transition, but electrifying ? eets Ferry electri? cation is not the future, latory agencies. This is good news comes with a signi? cant upfront in- it is the now. The technology is proven but represents a small portion of the vestment. Washington State Ferries, and only going to become more ef? - multi-billion-dollar effort it will take as an example, will need nearly $4 cient with near-term advancements. to electrify the industry. billion to complete the transition of Electrifying the ferry system is a major

Of the FTA’s $220 million award, its full ? eet and terminal upgrades. undertaking that requires a signi? cant $15.9 million was directed to the Costly grid infrastructure upgrades investment of procure or upgrade ves-

Water Emergency Transportation can be mitigated through the inter- sels and upgrade terminals to accom-

Authority (WETA) for upgrading connection of battery energy storage modate increase power requirements. its ferry ? oats to include battery en- systems, but there are other signi? cant However, many operators, particularly ergy storage systems. WETA operates capital costs. It can cost between $6 small, privately owned operations, throughout the San Francisco Bay, million and $15 million for a new may not be able to afford the cost of providing critical transbay services vessel or to upgrade an existing one. electri? cation and will rely on consid- and reducing road congestion. Over Furthermore, most terminals require erable federal incentive to realize their the last two years, WETA has been de- modernization to accommodate the sustainability initiatives.

veloping a blueprint for transitioning its ? eet of 16, high-speed vessels to zero emission to comply with Califor- nia requirements and demonstrate its leadership in sustainability. This tran- sition comes at a considerable price, but it is achievable with the help of local, state, and federal incentives.

In WETA’s operations, it takes two to three minutes to load or unload a vessel, depending on its size. The short dwell times and projected pow- er requirements of the vessels result in abrupt and extreme power draws from the grid, increasing stress on an already constrained system.

These peak demands can be allevi- ated by interconnecting battery en- ergy storage systems that can discharge when vessels are charging. Many of the terminals are in dense, urban areas with limited space availability, however, and cannot accommodate batteries on the shoreside. To address that constraint,

WETA installed batteries in the ? oats, just one of the creative solutions it www.marinelink.com MN 17|