Updated April 5
The Steamship Authority (SSA) has a long way to go before it can fully electrify its fleet.
At the sold-out Ferries Now event held at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in Tisbury, Islanders and mainland residents gathered to hear from a panel of experts about electric ferry options and the possibility of the Steamship Authority electrifying its fleet.
Several attendees asked questions and made comments pressuring the SSA toward electrification, such as whether the newest freight ferries will be electric, if the authority’s consultants have met with European counterparts regarding ferry electrification, and a need for the SSA to gain the public’s trust so that it can properly plan and implement electrification.
Martha’s Vineyard Commission energy planner Kate Warner began the event by explaining why electric ferries were so needed: mitigating the effects of climate change that are increasing at an “alarming rate.” Warner said not taking “great action” against climate change within the next 10 years will “irretrievably change life” on Earth.
“This is a time of a paradigm shift,” she said. “Because climate change is so fast upon us, we have to start thinking outside of our comfort zone and stop doing things the way we have always done them. Whether it is with buildings, transportation, or our Steamship boats — the entire world needs to move away from fossil fuels and toward electrification for all energy use.”
SSA general manager Robert Davis said that a struggle for the Steamship is accessing the funding needed for the conversion to an electric fleet. Operating expenses for the SSA are covered by ticket sales, and there are limits on how awarded grants can be used. Davis said there are other complications for going electric, like a need for interchangeable vessels for the Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket routes, and shoreside infrastructure requirements. “The question is how do we transition to cleaner technologies,” Davis said. “It’s a long roadmap to get there.”
Davis said careful, long-term planning will be required to understand how to best approach electrification, such as identifying grid capacity and projected future energy needs. He also underscored a need to be “flexible moving forward,” particularly with emerging technologies and regulations.
However, Davis listed some potential ways to meet the perceived challenges, such as funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and considering hybrid electric technology. He said that the Steamship has already acquired electric buses that are on the way. They’re also using solar energy, and designing the Woods Hole terminal to be certified as gold-rated by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
The SSA is currently assembling a strategic plan for the future, which Davis said would include considering electrifying its fleet. Workshops and public input are planned in the coming months, and the strategic plan is scheduled to be adopted by December.
During Friday’s event, John Waterhouse of Elliott Bay Design Group went over an alternative propulsion study his firm conducted for the SSA. “There is no silver bullet,” Waterhouse said about alternative fuels.
Eversource representatives gave an overview of the power company’s supply to Martha’s Vineyard, and what type of infrastructure would be needed for electric ferries, such as reconfiguring circuits in Falmouth or converting and upgrading existing circuits in Vineyard Haven.
Ferry services around the world have already transitioned to electric ferries, or are considering it. Three guest speakers spoke remotely about their experiences electrifying ferries in their part of the globe.
Halfdan Abrahamsen, project manager of Ærø EnergyLab, the renewable energy office of the island municipality of Ærø, Denmark, shared the “pioneering work” underway in the Scandinavian country. “We have rather ambitious climate goals, and the e-ferry is one way of living up to those goals,” he said.
Ellen, Ærø’s municipal electric ferry, uses no fossil fuels, and doesn’t even need an engineer on board, since there aren’t as many moving parts. According to Abrahamsen, Ellen has very high energy efficiency, is built lighter than diesel-using ferries, and has low operating costs.
A 22-nautical-mile round-trip uses 1,900 kWh and costs around $180 for the Ellen, according to Abrahamsen. Abrahamsen said despite the expenses that went into the electric ferry, the benefits after three years in operation are shown through various metrics like reduced emissions and satisfaction from staff and passengers.
Hank Berg, general manager of Casco Bay Island Transit District in Maine, said his ferry system is the “lifeline” for the six Casco Bay Islands. Berg’s ferries are on average 30 years old. One of them, the Machigonne II, is being replaced with a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system for a 4.5-mile route. “We tend to be very conservative in our decisions, meaning a low-risk profile, because, as I said, this ferry is the lifeline of the islands, and we don’t have a backup to it,” he said.
The Casco Bay Island Transit District began strategic planning in 2015 after a lengthy process that included hiring firms for fleet analysis and 14 public meetings. The final project delivery to replace the Machigonne II is expected to arrive by 2024. Plans for another hybrid vessel are underway.
Matthew von Ruden, program administrator of the Washington State Ferry System, the largest ferry system in the U.S., also spoke. He says the ferry system’s electrification was launched by an executive order from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The program consisted of a mixture of electrifying terminals, converting six existing vessels, and building 16 new vessels. The converted ferries are anticipated to save the state tens of millions of dollars. The fleet that needs to be newly constructed is anticipated to be finished by 2037.
Both the Casco Bay Island Transit District and the Washington State Ferry System also had to deal with regulations like the Buy American Act when looking at vendors, such as for steel.
Although each of the guest speakers came from different parts of the world, there were similar barriers they both had to overcome, like expensive up-front costs to vessel changes and onshore infrastructure, and lengthy adoption process. But they all advocated for electric ferries for the benefits they bring.
Many questions were asked by eventgoers, particularly regarding transition cost details, needed equipment, and interactions with the public.
Carol Smith from Edgartown felt the speakers did a good job of explaining a complex issue. “It is very interesting, and it makes me see the possibilities in how far we have to come here, compared to others,” she said.
Teachers and students from Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School (MVPCS) were also in attendance. Some of the students who attended were working on a project about electric ferries, while others were learning about the connection between environmental systems and society. “It’s nice that they can learn about it and potentially become advocates or affect change in some way,” MVPCS science teacher Jane Paquet said. She added that it was important the event was showing the students that people are working on climate change, and that the issue is “not all written in stone.”
MVPCS social studies teacher Jonah Maidoff said he felt this was a discussion that should have taken place a few years ago.
Students who spoke with The Times found the event to be interesting. “It’s nice to get a view of how we can approach the situation,” Zeb Athearn said.
When asked whether seeing the work being done gave hope for the fight against climate change, there were some different responses.
“I think it seems more possible, especially because we’re an Island,” Finn Robinson said. “We have a hard boundary between what is inside our borders and outside. It’s just easier to set a goal.”
Mason Allison said hope was not productive for the climate change issue. “I’m not going to be here forever, yet I still think it’s important — even for issues like the ferry — people around the country should be fighting for this, for a better future for themselves, not just coastal communities that are directly affected by it,” he said.
A recording of Friday’s conference is available on the SSA YouTube channel, and the presentation slides will be available on the website of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, which organized the event.
Just some quick observations about the electricity in Denmark.
The article states that 1,900 Kwh of electricity cost $180 in Denmark.
That’s about 9.5 cents per Kwh.
I pay 32 cents per Kwh.
57 % of Denmark’s power comes from wind. Another 23 % are renewables.
48 % of New England’s power comes from natural gas. another 22 % from nuclear.
Only 10 % from wind.
If generating power from the wind is so expensive ( as some assert) why is power in New England 3 1/2 times more expensive than it is in Denmark ?
By the way– The Vineyard wind one windfarm project is 50 % owned by a Danish company.
https://www.google.com/search?q=denmark+power+generation&oq=denmark+power+generation&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512j0i22i30l4j0i390i650l3.9760j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
https://www.eia.gov/dashboard/newengland/overview
Interesting that NYC is building a new hybrid ferry for Governors Island, previous home of the SSA’s Governor. https://gcaptain.com/new-york-city-building-hybrid-electric-public-ferry/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-daff8eb856-139810869&mc_cid=daff8eb856&mc_eid=cf9560b76e
Interesting that the Governor’s Island run is less than three miles and operates at really huge deficit.
The global average carbon dioxide set a new record high in 2021: 414.72 parts per million. Despite the continued economic drag of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase over 2020 was tied for fifth-largest one-year increase in the 63-year record.
The period of time of 10 years prior to 2020 Co2 increased at just under 2 ppm average per year but recent increases have been at 2.21 ppm per year or an increase. And Co2 is not projected to decrease by 2030 overall but increase. There are no indications at all that emissions will decrease one bit by 2030 despite calls for emissions to be cut by 45% of 2020 levels or roughly what emissions were around 1960 before population doubled and the world increased prosperity and consumption.
We are not on a path to meeting goals we are told are essential.
This will not be changed by Vineyard Wind. We are experiencing a wartime economy with drains on Western nations for weapons and fossil fuels and all the Co2 that war brings. But I would like to ask a question about costs of Vineyard Wind projects. We experience incredibly high electrical costs. Will Vineyard Wind projects increase, or decrease our utility costs? Can we please have a truthful answer?
Mr Keller I think you need to do some more research. Electricity in Denmark is among the highest if not the highest in the world.
Denmark and Germany have the most expensive electricity in the developed world, due to their heavy reliance on intermittent sources of power. In Denmark’s case, it is primarily wind, which provides nearly half of its electricity. This is much more than any other developed economy. Of course, Denmark has exceptional wind resources, so that its marginal cost per kWh of production is low. The core problem is that the grid must provide continuous power, which in Denmark means coal-fired generators whenever wind power is inadequate. (Nuclear is banned, and the country is very flat, so no hydroelectric.) Because of wind’s intermittency, the coal-fired capacity must be nearly adequate to carry the country’s entire load. This produces vast overcapacity, with either wind or coal essentially able to deliver all the needed electricity. With something like twice the needed capacity, costs soar.
I don’t know andy– Are you saying the people talking about electric ferries are not telling the truth ?
I can do the simple math.
According to the article , 1,900 Kwhs cost $180.
So if we divide the $180 by the 1900 Kwhs That’s 9.437 cents per Kwh.
That’s not “woke” math. It’s the math that I learned in Catholic school.
I also know how to read my electric bill. Eversource wants me to pay them 32 cents for every Kwh I use.
If you bothered to click on my link you would see that Denmark does indeed get 57% % of it’s power ( on an annual basis) from wind.
According to my understanding of mathematics, 57 % is more than half– not less.
If you bothered to click on my link you would see that Denmark does indeed get 10.5 % of it’s power ( on an annual basis) from Coal. I know that—
And just so you know, I have done a little more research and found this interesting article from “more than 7 years ago” about Denmark producing more electricity from wind than it could use.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/10/denmark-wind-windfarm-power-exceed-electricity-demand
So, andy– If you have something that contradicts my assertion that electricity in Denmark is more expensive than on Martha’s Vineyard, please post something other than your opinion to back that up.
I am always open to being more informed.
Thanks
Hybrid propulsion systems seem like a more doable route for a gradual (and more realistic) transition to efficient ferries. The headlong plunge into all-electric comes with some known and unknown risks, not to mention an astronomical price tag. Are islanders really ready to pony up, given the unusually high per-mile fares we already pay, plus sky-high electric costs here? That reality check will have to come soon enough.
Slide 13 of the Elliot Bay/SSA presentation
https://www.mvcommission.org/sites/default/files/docs/ElliottBay-FerriesNow.pdf
listed ‘disruptors’ that could affect the cost-benefit calculus of electric ferries:
o Energy Costs [fuel vs. electricity]
o Climate Change
o New Fuels/Battery Technologies
o Remote Work [population/travel changes]
o Package Freight [Amazon delivers free to the Island]
The implied equivalence says clearly that the designer does not take climate change seriously.
The down side of moving directly to electric ferries is possible interruptions of services.
The down side of continuing to burn fossil fuels is the certain end of civilization.
Not sure Lithium is the answer. Just saying.
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