{"id":18195,"date":"2015-11-04T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-04T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/solar-powered-tugboat-makes-trip-on-erie-canal-without-fuel-delivers-local-products.html"},"modified":"2017-11-08T13:47:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T18:47:04","slug":"solar-powered-tugboat-makes-trip-on-erie-canal-without-fuel-delivers-local-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/solar-powered-tugboat-makes-trip-on-erie-canal-without-fuel-delivers-local-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar-Powered Tugboat Makes Trip On Erie Canal Without Fuel, Delivers Local Products"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\"solar\n<\/div>\n

\n

From left, Phillippe Bourassa and Andrew Sheridan of Cascades Tissue Group, and Ian Germain
\nof Greenfield Manufacturing\/Hullspeed Performance Marine Coatings aboard Solar Sal.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On Oct. 13, Solar Sal, the award-winning
\nsolar powered vessel honored as “best in show”
\nat the recent Waterford Tugboat Roundup,
\nbecame the first-ever boat to traverse the Erie
\nCanal and deliver a cargo without using a drop
\nof fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

The Chamber of Southern Saratoga County
\n(CSSC) and several of its member manufacturing
\ncompanies were major supporters of the
\ntrip. Quebec-based Cascades, Inc., which owns
\ntissue manufacturing plants in Mechanicville and Waterford, assisted in the operations, which involved loading six bales (8,000 pounds) of
\nrecycled cardboard from Cascades Recovery’s
\nDepew, N.Y. facility aboard the boat in Lockport,
\nthen traveling the roughly 320 miles to
\nMechanicville for unloading near Cascades
\nTissue Group’s local plant.<\/p>\n

Hullspeed Coatings of Saratoga Springs,
\nwhich applied its signature product to the
\nvessel’s bottom before its spring launching, also assisted in the journey, with marketing
\nmanager Ian Germain present for both loading
\nand unloading of the cargo.<\/p>\n

Butler-Binley, of Bolton Landing, has a
\n20-plus year track record of building brands.<\/p>\n

Professor David Borton departed Troy on
\nSept. 19, cruising the entire length of the Erie
\nCanal from Waterford to the Niagara River,
\nreturning to Lockport in time for the Sept. 29
\nloading, joined by CSSC President\/CEO Pete
\nBardunias and other volunteers.<\/p>\n

Bardunias was enthusiastic about spending
\nsix days aboard Solar Sal during its voyage.<\/p>\n

“It’s not every day that one gets an opportunity
\nto make history, so I wanted to
\nbe aboard,” he said. “With the Chamber of
\nSouthern Saratoga County now so prominent
\nin the marine industry, it was important to be
\nthere and share our story with the people we
\nencountered.”<\/p>\n

He added, “Our goal is to manufacture these
\nvessels here in Saratoga County and have them
\navailable to customers all over the state and
\nbeyond.”<\/p>\n

During Solar Sal’s journey, Borton showed
\nhow the vessel could proceed solely on just
\nthe incoming power from available sunlight.
\nIts solar arrays can gain energy from minimal
\ndaylight, and Solar Sal’s battery reserve allows
\nfor some running even at night (maximum
\nrange on a full charge is 50 miles).<\/p>\n

Solar Sal performed well, despite significant
\novercast and rain for several days. She easily
\nreached her top speed of 7 knots when called
\nfor, and in direct sunlight could sustain a 5
\nknot cruising speed (same as commercial tugs
\ntravel in the canals) using only four kilowatts
\nof power. Since the solar arrays can deliver five
\nkilowatts on a nice day, a reasonable speed can
\nbe achieved while more energy flows into the
\nboat’s batteries than it is using, in essence the
\nboat is refueling while underway, according to
\nBorton. Given the nature of their endurance
\nrun, the inclement weather required slower
\nspeeds to achieve the same effect, but crossing
\nOneida Lake’s 20-mile length, Solar Sal’s gauges
\nindicated that they were indeed taking on more
\n“fuel” than being consumed to do the crossing.<\/p>\n

The voyage passed 320 miles of towns,
\nbed and breakfasts, hotels, waterfront parks,
\nmarinas, restaurants and other attractions.
\nResidents of the canal-side communities expressed
\nhope for new industries to revitalize
\nsome of these towns and help build the upstate
\neconomy, Bardunias said. Many of these towns
\nhave waterfront commercial facilities which are
\nfalling into disrepair or have been dormant for
\nmany years.<\/p>\n

The voyage of Solar Sal coincided with some
\nwork done by a fellow CSSC member, the state
\nMarine Highway tug Margot, which carried
\nstone on the Champlain Canal and later moved
\nheavy equipment into western New York via the
\nErie. While tugs are seen fairly often between
\nWaterford and Oswego, it is unusual that they
\nare used in some of the other stretches. Solar
\nSal and Margot are at opposite ends of the
\nspectrum, but they both traveled on rarely-used
\ncanal stretches this October.<\/p>\n

“The canals are still available as a vastly
\nunderutilized resource for both the environmentally-
\nsustainable delivery of cargo and the
\ncarrying of people, whether as a tour boat for
\nhire or a customized, private yacht. That is what
\nwe’ve envisioned for Solar Sal,” said Borton.<\/p>\n

Because Solar Sal’s design can accommodate
\na 12-ton payload it is very versatile, with multiple
\npossible uses. For example, if finished as
\na private trawler-style yacht, there’s room for
\na cozy cabin for cruising boaters. Substitute a
\nmodule with open seating and it could be an
\nequally effective tour boat (the weight of 40
\npassengers was carried on the delivery voyage).<\/p>\n

Other possibilities include short haul cargoes
\nof heavy goods, recyclables, trash, or even fuel
\noil (why use fuel to move fuel?). Bardunias
\nsaid Solar Sal could be a useful platform to
\ncreate floating farmers markets or small-scale
\ntransportation of food to downstate New York
\nresidents.<\/p>\n

For more information on marine cargo
\ntransportation, contact the Chamber of Southern
\nSaratoga County at 371-7748 or email
\npete@southernsaratoga.org .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From left, Phillippe Bourassa and Andrew Sheridan of Cascades Tissue Group, and Ian Germain of Greenfield Manufacturing\/Hullspeed Performance Marine Coatings aboard Solar Sal. On Oct. 13, Solar Sal, the award-winning solar powered vessel honored as "best in show" at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":24478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-18195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nSolar-Powered Tugboat Makes Trip On Erie Canal Without Fuel, Delivers Local Products - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/solar-powered-tugboat-makes-trip-on-erie-canal-without-fuel-delivers-local-products\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solar-Powered Tugboat Makes Trip On Erie Canal Without Fuel, Delivers Local Products - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From left, Phillippe Bourassa and Andrew Sheridan of Cascades Tissue Group, and Ian Germain of Greenfield Manufacturing\/Hullspeed Performance Marine Coatings aboard Solar Sal. 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