Available Other Features
Missing Other Features
Pricing
Starting Price
Options
- One-Time Payment
Available Since
Deployment Options
Good Option For
- Small Business (11-50 people)
- Medium Business (51-250 people)
- Large Business (250+ people)
Deep dive
Core Features
The Solar PV Tool connects solar-yield calculations with vessel operating assumptions, allowing users to explore whether onboard PV could provide meaningful savings under different configurations and routes.
Solar Energy Production: The tool estimates daily PV electricity generation in kWh from the system's installed kWp capacity, performance ratio and global horizontal irradiance. Solar geometry and location-specific conditions are incorporated into the calculation.
Location and Seasonal Analysis: Users can assess expected generation using vessel latitude and longitude and examine how solar yield changes with location, ports, voyage patterns and seasonal conditions. Calculations can use clear-sky assumptions or user-defined irradiance profiles.
Fuel Savings: Solar output can be converted into avoided auxiliary-engine fuel consumption using specific fuel consumption (SFC) assumptions. This helps quantify how replacing engine-generated electricity with solar could reduce fuel use.
System Scenario Comparison: Users can change parameters such as installed PV capacity, performance ratio and location to compare different configurations across multiple days or seasons, supporting early-stage system sizing and feasibility assessments.
Emissions and Compliance Impact: The model can quantify CO₂ reductions associated with avoided fuel consumption and assess how solar contributes to maritime decarbonization and regulatory costs. Sustainable Ships has demonstrated this particularly for FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS.
Closing Insights
The Solar PV Tool helps users answer a straightforward question: would installing solar panels on a particular ship save enough fuel and money to be worthwhile? Solar panels can supply some of the electricity normally produced by the ship's auxiliary engines, which power onboard needs such as lighting and equipment. The amount saved depends on factors including the size of the solar installation, where the vessel operates and how much electricity it normally requires. The tool brings these variables together so users can make an initial assessment before commissioning more detailed engineering work.
Sustainable Ships demonstrates the tool with a hypothetical Handymax bulk carrier fitted with a 100 kWp solar system. Under the assumptions used in the case study, the installation generated approximately $350,000 in combined fuel, EU ETS and FuelEU savings between 2025 and 2035. Sustainable Ships makes clear that the result depends on assumptions including solar conditions, operating profile and auxiliary-engine fuel consumption, so it should not be treated as a universal savings estimate.
The Solar PV Tool fits Sustainable Ships' wider approach of providing relatively low-cost, early-stage feasibility tools for maritime decarbonization. Users can test the online tools through its freemium model, while the premium Solar PV Tool is available for €99. Sustainable Ships also offers membership for users requiring access to its broader collection of premium tools and databases, as well as customized modelling and technical support for more specific projects.