Twenty-four fishing boats in the southwestern Nova Scotia fleet are now outfitted with solar and wind turbine-powered energy systems as a way to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gases.
“We took some equipment, modified it to what we want to do. Designed it for this part of the North Atlantic because in the winter months, we don’t have a whole lot of daylight, that’s when we rely on the wind. If we don’t have wind, which is rare, we have the sunshine to create solar and that keeps the batteries fully charged all the time.
The solar and wind system keeps the batteries fully charged all the time. If there is a big rainstorm or something else, it keeps the pumps working. Installed on the top of wheelhouses, the off-grid solar and wind turbine powered energy system keep the vessel’s batteries charged, the bilge pumps working and a heater running when a boat is berthed at its home port without running the main engine, or connecting to shore power. Kathy Johnson