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Prius of the Navy...

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by DetPrius, Oct 22, 2009.

  1. DetPrius

    DetPrius Active Member

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    New Navy ship using "hybrid" technology...

    ‘Prius’ of the Navy Liveshots

    ‘Prius’ of the Navy
    [​IMG]

    October 22, 2009 - 1:02 PM | by: William La Jeunesse The USS Makin Island is the newest ship in the fleet and the first to use hybrid technology --earning it the nickname the 'Prius' of the Navy.
    Three football fields long, the Makin Island carries 2,000 marines, their helicopters, hovercraft, Bradley fighting vehicles and a squadron of Harrier jets. The ship is designed for cruising offshore for long periods at slow speeds-perfect for a hybrid electric motor.
    SLIDESHOW: USS Makin
    Compared to other steam driven ships, the Makin Island can stay on water almost twice as long before refueling. On its first voyage from a shipyard in Mississippi to San Diego, the hybrid engine saves more than 1 million gallons of diesel, saving taxpayers 2.2 million dollars.
    The Makin Island is just the first "green" ship to sail the ocean blue- part of an ongoing initiative to make our armed forces less reliant on fossil fuel and to reduce the Military's carbon footprint.
     
  2. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Hybrid ships have been around for a long time. Most hybrid ships are serial diesel-electric hybrids.

    Tom
     
  3. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    And one could consider submarines to be "hybrid" as well. Prior to nuclear subs, they ran on diesel or battery power.
     
  4. Rybold

    Rybold globally warmed member

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    About twelve months ago, Popular Science magazine suggested that modern cargo and container ships could add wind sails (think of the type of ships that Christopher Columbus and Pirates of the Caribbean had) under certain circumstances (when wind direction is optimal) to reduce fuel costs. It seems like a common sense idea, but I still haven't seen even a prototype.
     
  5. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Some have been using kite sails for several years.

    Tom
     
  6. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    It's beyond prototype ... it's in production. It's solar assist. check it out:

    [​IMG]

    Yep ... like it was mentioned above, ships have been hybrid in one form/shape or another since the 1st battery diesel subs.

    You can read up on what's going on w/ the shipping industry & hybrids here:
    http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/23/power-your-boat-with-kites-wind-power-by-kiteship/



    .
     
  7. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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  8. jburns

    jburns Senior Senior Member

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    About 50 years ago Popular Science magazine said by 2000 we would all be flying to work in our own George Jetson cars. Sadly I'm still waiting. :)
     
  9. Grateful11

    Grateful11 Member

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    Many people don't realize that all diesel locomotives are actually a diesel engine running
    large generator powering electric traction motors.