600 Volt Charging?

[mnx]

I was walking around the docks/port the other day and saw a few boats (tugboats in this case) plugged in. The sign said 600 volts, is that some kind of standard for marina's etc? Anyone know what current or total power was being carried on those cables?

Was just wondering if that would be a possible place to recharge (quickly) in the future for roadtrips etc.

- Matt
eagerly awaiting my sig Model S

 

[EV_de]

...more Infos here ...

... Different power forms may be used to transfer electrical energy from port to the ship:

11000 V AC[3]
6600 V AC (likely to become standard)[4]
660 V AC
400 V AC

High voltage reduces the mass of the cable, and so reduces handling labor ...

 

[TEG]

...more Infos here ...

Wow, that link includes this sobering detail:

...
Air pollution

Unlike navy vessels, commercial ships do not sustain long port stays, and stay on power generated internally through diesel powered generators (auxiliary engines). As ships traditionally were not subject to emissions control, since the days of diesel powered ships research was largely focused on using cheaper forms of fuel to run their engines.
As a result ships throughout the world have been using Heavy Fuel Oil – residual petroleum – as the optimal choice of fuel. This fuel, the reverse of gas oils (which are derived through distillation of crude oil), is high on particulate matter; and studies show that a single ship can produce emissions equal to the same amount as 50 million cars annually.
Further research [2] indicates 60,000 cardio-pulmonary mortalities due to particulate matter from ship emissions. These deaths have been detected far inland, due to prevailing wind conditions. The total world trading fleet stands at 50,000+ merchant ships (Lloyds data as of January 2008). Each ship spends some 100 days in port in a year.

 

[EV_de]

'modern vessels' are a swimming hazardous waste incineration ...

 

[vfx]

Wow, that link includes this sobering detail:

I think we talked about that here. How many gallons of fuel a Supertanker burns every foot bringing us our black gold through protected waters.