Sea trials are set for mid-January on a vintage Southeast Alaska fishing vessel being equipped with a hybrid engine that will save on diesel fuel and make for a cleaner ocean.
“I’m very excited about it,” said Jeff Turner, a veteran commercial harvester in Sitka and owner of the Mirage, a 50-foot longliner-troller.
Rising costs of diesel fuel initially sparked his interest in converting to a hybrid propulsion system, which can accommodate diesel fuel or electric power, but Turner said there are other advantages to hybrid. “Having a clean ocean. Taking care of the ocean around us is our responsibility, and it’s quieter, less noise pollution. I can see less impact all around,” he said.
Diesel costs stood out, however. “When I was running out west to Seward or Kodiak, fishing in the central Gulf of Alaska, you have to fill the boat (with fish) to make it pencil out well,” he said.
Turner is a member of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), which got some initial help from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the Rockies (NREL). They helped ALFA model energy savings and demands from various systems and researched alternative fuels, said Linda Behnken, a veteran commercial longliner and executive director of ALFA. “They helped us to identify that the hybrid system was the right next step for the ongoing project.”
The program is funded by a $500,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant for two hybrid commercial fishing boats and one fully electric mariculture vessel. The second fishing boat, the Energizer, will have only electric propulsion, but also a diesel generator to recharge batteries if needed,” Behnken said. “The mariculture boat/skiff will go a shorter distance and can recharge at the end of each day.”
The Mirage is a Sitka boat. Energizer, a Juneau boat, will hopefully be back in the water in March, and the mariculture boat, based in Kodiak, will have an electric system installed this spring, Behnken said.
There are currently some 9,000 small commercial boats fishing in the Gulf of Alaska, all burning diesel.
Source: NationalFisherman
