The Center for American Progress reports
[...] it should be a welcome moment that China's Guangzhou Shipyard International has launched "the world's first electric ship with a capacity" of 2,200 tons, as the state-run Global Times reported1 earlier [in November].
The ship is short-haul: It can travel about 50 miles with its 1,000 lithium batteries after two-hour charge, which is the loading and unloading time for the ship, state news site ChinaNews.com reports.2 So, it can be charged while it is docking.
Sadly, the Chinese spoiled the launch of this otherwise green cargo ship by using it to transport coal for electricity generation on the Pearl River in Guangdong Province. The ship can carry up to 2,300 tons of coal, though ChinaNews.com reports such vessels could in the future be used for "passenger ships, ro-ro ships [roll-on/roll-off vessels carrying wheeled cargo] engineering vessels" and similar purposes.
[1] DNS won't resolve. Google cache.
[2] DNS won't resolve. Google cache. (Chinese)
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MostCynical on Monday December 04 2017, @10:34AM
Chinese for irony.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Monday December 04 2017, @10:54AM (7 children)
Where do you think they got the electricity to construct this thing? Where do you think they get the electricity to recharge its battery?
Coal. Doh.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 04 2017, @01:27PM
Inquiring minds want to know...is it clean coal? (grin)
Given the losses in converting to electricity, charging/discharging batteries, and then to propulsion, the ship would probably use less coal if it burned it on board to run turbines. Unless the coal-electric plant is very high efficiency.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Monday December 04 2017, @01:43PM (5 children)
Here's the thing about an electric conveyance of any sort:
It's power-generation agnostic. It doesn't know where the power came from, and it doesn't care, either.
So while an electric ship (or car, or whatever) may essentially run from coal now, it will transition without a blip to wind power, solar, wave, whatever as the Chinese wind down coal generation (which they are doing) and wind up solar and so forth (which they are also doing.) So this is a very good thing, it bodes well for the future. Whereas building Yet Another Particulate / Gas Belching Ship (or car, or whatever) is just extending the problem we already have even further.
Having said that, yeah, pretty funny it's hauling coal now. :)
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday December 04 2017, @07:27PM (3 children)
On top of that, building clones of the ship, which may carry less unpleasant loads, is pretty easy.
The question I have, given the recent news of the electric mining truck which produces power by taking it load downhill, is whether the electric ships floating downriver can end up creating power by slowing down their loads. Instead of using propellers to push water away (downstream to slow down), some kind of dragging paddlewheel could be used to generate power to keep at speed in the faster river sections.
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Monday December 04 2017, @08:01PM (2 children)
Sorry, but it wouldn't work.
A truck going downhill can use the difference in speed between the vehicle with gravity adding energy to the truck to keep it moving. A floating ship going down river is moving at effectively the same speed as the water it is floating in so there wouldn't be enough of an energy difference between the ship and water to generate any power from it.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday December 04 2017, @08:22PM
I guess I should have mentioned the dragging would be on the river bed, since yes, the water mostly goes at drifting ship speed (localized effect do apply).
You know, if you're gonna piss off the eco-conscious by carrying coal, you might as well kick up silt and rip the ecosystem to shreds in the process. Don't go for half-measures. Underwater "sail" for max pushing, giant teeth for max dragging, and after a few passes you'll be safe from pesky organic stuff fouling the hull of blocking the way!
(Score: 2) by Arik on Monday December 04 2017, @09:24PM
However, despite being technically wrong, you're basically correct. There's very very little energy to be collected this way, it's a drop in the bucket at best.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by PinkyGigglebrain on Monday December 04 2017, @08:11PM
Another advantage of this ship is it moves any CO2/soot emissions from a moving source with limited room for exhaust scrubbers to a single non-moving fixed location with plenty of room for extra scrubbers to be installed and easily maintained. So even though this ship is might be hauling coal for a power plant it is not burning diesel doing so.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday December 04 2017, @11:34AM (1 child)
Who knew the Chinese were that good at trolling? +5 Troll, my little, yellow friends.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by beckett on Monday December 04 2017, @08:04PM
they play joke.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by aim on Monday December 04 2017, @12:44PM
Quite recently, an electric ferry has been put into service across the Mosel river, between Germany and Luxembourg. It was hailed as the first such ship. Since "ro-ro" is mentioned in the article, I suspect this ferry counts...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 05 2017, @12:14PM
It's what the ships normally use for fuel and is the fraction from oil distillation that comes out last, pretty much like asphalt. One large sea going vessel can spout as much emissions as tens of thousands of cars. Now as pointed out above, we only need a clean way to produce electricity...
:)