Yes the funding is just laughable how are emissions reduced by running a diesel to charge the batteries, won't the diesel have to generate near the same amount of power as is being consumed? Our tax dollars hard at work.........
My quip above was about using the funds from the Volkswagen diesel efficiency fraud to fund the development.
The refit seems like they will remove two of the four diesel generators, have battery charging while docked and use the remaining two diesels if/when required. Not all bad in theory.
This is a quote from Washington State
ecology.wa.gov
Volkswagen federal enforcement action
The trustee for the federal Volkswagen settlement has certified Washington as a beneficiary to the settlement’s environmental mitigation trust. The trust allocates $112.7 million to Washington to mitigate environmental damage caused by pollution from the violating VW vehicles.
The settlement resolves violations of the federal Clean Air Act after VW installed illegal software that cheated emissions tests on many of its diesel vehicles. Under the settlement, money can be invested in projects that replace or repower eligible vehicles, vessels, and equipment with new less-polluting diesel engines, alternate fueled (compressed natural gas, propane, or hybrid), or all-electric engines and developing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The Governor designated Ecology to lead Washington's efforts to manage the settlement funds.
Hybrid-electric Jumbo Mark II ferry
We are dedicating
up to $35 million to convert the first Washington state Jumbo Mark II ferry to hybrid-electric power. Allowing one of the state's biggest ferries to run primarily on battery power — instead of the ferry's massive diesel engines — will reduce fuel consumption by 400,000 gallons a year. Over the life of the ferry, the hybrid conversion will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 172,000 tons, and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 1,540 tons.
More importantly, installing batteries and allowing the ferry to run on electric power is the first step toward converting all three of the state's Jumbo Mark IIs to operate solely on battery power. When shore charging infrastructure is complete and all three of the Jumbo Mark IIs are converted, carbon emissions will fall by 48,565 tons every year — the equivalent of taking more than 10,000 cars off the road.
