TECHNICAL: NOVEL GREEN POWER

Sam Fortescue looks at the latest technology for renewable energy afloat

- Sam Fortescue

As the rest of the world grapples with decarbonisation, the sailing community is benefitting from the various technical developments made in other sectors. It is now simpler to harvest and store power on board than ever before – no bad thing when you consider how many power-hungry gadgets fill a modern cruising yacht. From Nespresso machines to electric winches, sailing consumers are reaping the rewards of the efficient electricity generation.

The core of renewable energy generation for boats remains wind, solar and hydrogeneration, but the last two of these are developing rapidly. Meanwhile hydrogen is continuing to make inroads into the sailing market.

It all comes down to how much power you need: a kilowatt-hour over the day to run the fridge and electronics (83Ah), or 50 times that for induction cooking, air-con and even electric propulsion.