Last year I wrote a series of articles exploring an all-electric Chi-Chemaun, a ferry that sails from Tobermory to South Baymouth on Manatoilin Island here in Ontario Canada. Briefly, while significant investments would be required, the project is entirely feasible. Further the current Chi-Chemaun ferry is getting old, so now might be a good time to discuss such things, as a significant investment will be required in the near term, be it a whole new ferry or upgrades to keep the current one going. Fuel savings alone might even pay the bill. Thus, why not consider an electric version. All this was done before the new ULO rate came into effect, we now review the economics assuming we can get the new ULO rate.
The Chi Cheemaun burned through about $1.4 M worth of Diesel in 2019 (source). Assuming wholesale electricity prices of $20 per MWh, and as discussed, 4 MWh per crossing (source), the equivalent electricity bill would have been $80 k. So were saving perhaps $ 1.3 M per year in fuel expenses alone, as we discussed this could pay for a modest renovation, or even a whole new ferry where Diesel is mostly sidelined for an electric power-train.
Much depends on what kind of electricity price the ferry would get. As discussed the lack of high power transmission infrastructure going into Tobermory (or South Baymouth for that matter), might limit us to slower overnight charging. Perfect you might say, as that allows us to take advantage of the new cheaper ultra-low overnight rate, which is 2.4 c/kWh or 24 $/MWh, just about the wholesale price of electricity. Granted, hydro-one (the local utility in Tobermory), has some legal levers they can pull for large customers, so its hard to say if the ULO rate could be had. That said, with a 24$/MWh price, instead of the quoted whole sale price of $20/KWh, we still have an annual “fuel-bill” of only 96k$, quite the bargain compared to the current 2019 Diesel bill of $1.4M/year. As discussed over 20 years, that might pay for the Chi-Chemaun $30M electrification project.
There is a way, an electric Chi-Chemaun could make money in the winter months, why waste a 30 MWh battery that would otherwise sit idling in Owen sound from November to April. Interestingly enough, Owen sound has excellent grid connectivity (see this post). Why not charge the batteries at night when prices are cheap, and discharge during the day? How much money are we talking about here? Well, again, that depends on the arrangement with Hydro-One. We can get some idea by looking at ultra-low overnight rate, during the night, I can charge at 2.4 c/kWh, and discharge during peak times perhaps at 24 c/kWh. Fully charging the 30 MWh battery at night, and discharging during peak hours, we might collect a handsome $6, 480 per day, 0.970 M$ a year, or 19 M$ over 20 years. Seems we might be in the green.
Electric car adventures 