As intriguing as an electric-powered ferry is, the main point is that they are finally moving along with a plan to improve transit in Halifax. I was a little surprised in reading the article that they were just announcing funding for a study, after having previously announced that ferries were going to be added to the transit system last year? I had assumed that they would have already done a study before making the announcement - isn't that how you would normally do it? The key point to me is that their target to have it operational is "by 2024", which seems worryingly vague.
All that aside, this is great news that they are finally starting the process to getting this up and running, and that the province and feds are helping with the funding... hopefully that continues when it comes time to purchase the crafts. Although at approx $3.5 million... maybe that includes part of the construction and purchasing costs as well? Seems like a lot for a "study".
There was a curious quote from Kelly Regan in the article:
Quote:
Deputy Premier Kelly Regan said transportation is Nova Scotia's second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, so transitioning away from diesel ferries will reduce emissions and help the province meet its 2030 emission targets.
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What is the largest source of GHG emissions in NS?
Quote:
The largest emitting sectors in Nova Scotia are electricity generation at 42% of emissions, transportation at 31%, and buildings (residential and commercial) at 14%
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Source
So we're transitioning from the #2 source to the #1 source?
Regardless, I know there are technological moves towards clean energy and all, but it just seemed like a slippery comment designed to make it sound great while leaving out important details...
I personally like the idea of electric ferries, but I would hope the study actually leads to a good sound decision, and not one that chooses electric because it's popular these days (and therefore political). Engineers around the world are working on solutions to transition all forms of transportation from fossil fuels to electric, but I'm concerned that they are not quite there yet. As Dartguard posted, the users of the service just want efficient, safe, reliable ferry service, and if that service is compromised because Halifax Transit has to deal with a bunch of technical issues from using technology that has not been fully developed yet, then it's going to be a problem.
In other words, I hope they make choices with a good "safety factor", i.e. more than enough range, and more than enough charge time (including factoring in the coldest days of the winter, which will affect both charge time and range). The last thing you want to be doing is cancelling runs because there isn't sufficient time to recharge, or god forbid, towing a dead ferry full of passengers back to the terminal...
Don't get me wrong. I'm quite excited about this! (but perhaps overly pragmatic...)