''Auriga Leader'' is a

car carrier Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usin ...

, owned by

Nippon Yusen Nippon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha (Japan Mail Shipping Line), also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company and is a member of the Mitsubishi ''keiretsu''. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a flee ...

Kaisha, and used for mobile machineries and cars worldwide; for example, Mitsubishi vehicles from Japan to the rest of the world. A small amount of the ship's power is produced by photovoltaic panels.

Experimental

Kaisha and

Nippon Oil , formerly , or NOC or ''Shin-Nisseki'' (新日石) is a Japanese petroleum company. Its businesses include exploration, importation, and refining of crude oil; the manufacture and sale of petroleum products, including fuels and lubricants; and ...

developed the ''Auriga Leader'' partly as an experimental vessel, where it is supposed to gather statistical research in how solar power can assist in powering a ship at sea. The ship's experimental stage was planned for two years.

Results

The solar panels produced 1.4 times more energy on the ship at sea than on land in Tokyo. It is not known what factors had an impact on this, but it is suggested that being at sea means more sunlight and that the wind encountered cools off the panels and thus increases efficiency.

Efficiency

The ''Auriga Leaders solar power capabilities produced an anticipated 0.05% of the ship's propulsion power and 1% of its electrical usage. This will contribute to lowering the ship's fuel usage by approximately 13 tonnes and its CO₂ output by 40 tonnes per year.

References

{{reflist Ships of Japan Ships of the NYK Line 2008 ships Ro-ro ships Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries