Electrical system design of solar-powered electrical water recreational and sport vessel

Abstract

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago with more than 17 000 islands, and the best marine tourism destination due to its beautiful beaches and underwater scenery, but Indonesia is also the most vulnerable country to be affected by climate change due to the greenhouse effect. Besides industry, the transportation sector is the highest contributor to the global greenhouse effect. In order to reduce the source of the greenhouse effect, the Indonesian Government has committed to using new and renewable energy as an alternative to fossil-based fuel. In an attempt to contribute to the Government's efforts and to advance the national marine tourism, the research is aimed to design water recreational and sport vessel that powered by a solar generated electric engine, as further development of Universitas Indonesia's solar boat participated in International Solar-boat Challenge competition in the Netherlands. The research is focused on the effective use of solar energy as the main source for powering the vessel's electrical engine, based on the existing optimum shape and dimensions of the boat. Information and data regarding the arrangement of the vessel, solar electric generation processes and vessel powering system obtained from literature study, discussion with experts, and on the spot surveys of various recreational vessels were used as input for the calculation and simulation of the vessel being investigated. The research results are expected could be further developed for other related usages such as fish farming, coastal fishing rig, floating restaurant, etc.