These new vessels, set to enter service in November, get 3/4 of their power from solar cells and 1/4 from liquefied petroleum:
The technology could cut in half carbon-dioxide output on a typical urban ferry route, Solar Sailor said on its Web site. Makers of ships, planes and autos around the world are trying to cut greenhouse gases from transport, which account for about 13 percent of global emissions...Solar Sailor’s so-called hybrid marine power, a sea-going equivalent to Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius car, according to Chief Executive Officer Robert Dane, can save ferry operators $6 million in fuel costs over a typical 15-year lifespan, the company says. Even so, recent development of the technology makes it hard to compete with the more established diesel motor industry, Dane said.
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"Where does one find an LPG station to fill up the tank?"
in the Netherlands LPG is avaiable at 80% of the normal gasstations.
Solar golf balls next?
http://www.solarsailor.com/
...But this contraption and the way it has been put together with the hybrid power and such looks like it has been concocted in some university-project. And as they say- modern diesel-engines are doing quite well these days.
By the looks of it, I'd say this is a half-way solution that will be used for some little time and then be surpassed left and right by more sophisticated or simpler solutions.