The huge car carrier ship called the M/V Auriga Leader idled at the Port of Long Beach, burning through enough electricity to power 100 homes as workers loaded and unloaded a fleet of Toyotas.
But unlike any of the diesel-spewing, power-draining vessels that travel here, the Auriga Leader sports 328 solar panels on its top deck — a small array that provides 10% of the energy used by the giant ship while she is docked.
The ship — part of a demonstration project by the Port of Long Beach, Toyota and Tokyo-based shipping company NYK Line — is the first to use solar energy to help fill all of the vessel’s power needs, rather than to run auxiliary lights or serve other small functions.”
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar-ship2-2009jul02,0,3774663.story
