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Australian knowledge powers Hong Kong’s cleaner, greener ferry fleet
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Club Deputy Chairman T Brian Stevenson (front row, 2nd from left); Permanent Secretary for the Environment and Director of Environmental Protection Anissa Wong (front row, 2nd from right); Club Stewards Simon S O Ip (front row, 1st from left); Anthony W K Chow (front row, 1st from right) and Michael T H Lee (2nd row, 1st from left); Club Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (2nd row, 2nd from right); the Club’s Executive Director, Charities, Legal & Corporate Secretariat Douglas So (3rd row, 2nd from left); General Manager of The Kau Sai Chau Jockey Club Public Golf Course Cameron Halliday (2nd row, 1st from right); Sai Kung Rural Committee Chairman Lok Sui-sang (2nd row, 2nd from left); Australian Consul-General in Hong Kong and Macau Les Luck (3rd row, 1st from left); Senior Trade Commissioner of Austrade in Hong Kong and Macau Phil Ingram (3rd row, 1st from right); and Chief Executive of The Australian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and Macau Deborah Biber (3rd row, 2nd from right) on the Solar Golf. |
26.06.10 | MEDIA RELEASE
AUSTRALIAN CONSULATE-GENERAL – HONG KONG, CHINA
Media Release
26 June 2010
Australian knowledge powers Hong Kong’s cleaner, greener ferry fleet
Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) today launched the first of four new hybrid-powered passenger ferries using technology developed in Australia.
Twenty-four metres long and carrying up to 100 people, the Solar Sailor vessel will comprise part of a cleaner, greener fleet that will transport passengers to the HKJC’s Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course.
Using solar-collecting cells to power a hybrid diesel-electric engine, the technology was developed by Australian-based Solar Sailor, a leading innovator in maritime solar technology.
A local shipyard is building the ferries using Solar Sailor’s design and expertise.
One of the vessels will have “moveable” sails to help it harness the maximum amount of solar energy. Other designs allow these solar sails to harvest both sun and wind energy to make Solar Sailor vessels even more energy efficient.
Australian Consul-General, Mr Les Luck, said today’s launch represented the first commercial application of the innovative hybrid-power ferries in Hong Kong.
“Australia’s new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, yesterday reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to supporting emerging energy technologies to reduce the world’s reliance on carbon emission-producing energy sources,” said Mr Luck.
“These ferries are a shining example of how Australians are already contributing to the desire for a cleaner global environment,” he said.
The transport industry accounts for as much as 20 percent of global greenhouse emissions.
Advantages of the hybrid solar-powered sea vessels include fuel savings, zero emission capability, power redundancy, reduced greenhouse, noxious gas and particle emissions, and potential access to environmentally sensitive routes.
Another of Solar Sailor’s environmentally friendly hybrid-powered vessels was recently launched in Shanghai to carry VIP passengers to World Expo along the Huangpu River.
Sydney's harbour has been running a hybrid Solar Sailor ship since 2000.
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