Techno-economic feasibility assessment model for integrating hybrid renewable energy systems into power systems of existing ships: A case study of a patrol boat

The shipping industry has set out to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008, as op. cit. in the note by the International Maritime Organisation to the UNFCCC Talanoa Dialogue. In order to achieve this target, ship owners and operators are to consider replacing the conventional diesel generators and gas turbines with renewable energy and other cleaner power producing systems. In this paper, a techno-economic feasibility evaluation model for integrating hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) into the power architecture of existing ships for greener and sustainable shipping is presented. For HRES to qualify as technically and economically feasible, a decision is made based on a ‘techno-economic measure’ which is estimated by combining space availability, load served and economic performance. The proposed model is applied to a patrol boat sailing along the Eastern Coast of Ghana with three different proposed HRES. The results from the applied case shows that the most technical and economically feasible HRES for the patrol boat that meets the key performance indicators and offers low GHG emission is a hybrid solar PV, wind turbine and diesel generator system. The results further shows that the proposed model is capable of assisting ship owners to integrate affordable and cleaner energy into the power architecture of ships.