executive order<\/a> emphasized the goal to reach net zero carbon emissions from federal operations by 2050. reaching zero means replacing energy sources that produce man-made emissions with renewable energy sources, like solar and wind power.<\/p>\n\u201cif we want to be at zero carbon by 2050, the decisions we make in the next five years are really going to shape what fuel will become dominant,\u201d collette said.<\/p>\n
great lakes vessels primarily see the impact of climate change through variability in lake levels, extreme cold weather and major weather events, said jim weakley, president of the lake carriers\u2019 association, a group participating in the maritime administration study.<\/p>\n
\u201cif the levels are low, or lower than normal, for each inch of water we lose as much as 270 tons of cargo per vessel load,\u201d said weakley, whose organization moves over 90 million tons of cargo throughout the great lakes each year.<\/p>\n
the group wants to reduce the risk of climate change and is open to using veer group vessels once they are sailing, said debra dicianna, director of environmental affairs for the lake carriers\u2019 association.<\/p>\n
but using the existing ships on the great lakes would be better, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cwith our membership and their existing fleet, they are doing well at hauling the cargo that they need to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
all about balance<\/h2>\n veer\u2019s sailing vessels may be part of the solution, collette said. but figuring out a balance of technologies and fuel is the way to a more sustainable future.<\/p>\n
\u201cwe don\u2019t have a single winning technology today that everyone is pointing to and saying this is the way forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
while veer\u2019s methods may not be in the cards for the great lakes for another few years, the idea of sail-assist to reduce emissions is relevant today, collette said.<\/p>\n
it is easier to update existing great lakes vessels by adding sails or replacing combustion engines with a lower sulfur level fuel cell, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cadding sails to existing ships might reduce emissions from 10% to 30%, he said. \u201cbut i think we are also going to have to figure out a zero carbon fuel source for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
alternative fuels that don\u2019t involve burning a hydrocarbon include methanol, ammonia or hydrogen, collette said.<\/p>\n
\u201ci think there\u2019s a lot of work to be done on figuring out which one of those will be the most effective,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
decarbonizing great lakes shipping may require multiple approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cwe need to make sure we are taking a holistic view of minimizing our impact on the lakes and the people who live around the lakes,\u201d collette said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
sail ship company, veer voyage, plans to decarbonize cargo shipping with their new vessels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11746,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5034,4890],"tags":[5160,576],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-27115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-storyfest-2023","category-wind","tag-sustainable-solutions","tag-wind"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
can wind decarbonize great lakes shipping? cargo vessels \u201cveer\u201d into alternative power - planet forward<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n