Wind propulsion

Book chapter, 2022

In the dawn of the 21st century reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions from ships and replacing fossil-fueled carbon footprinted propulsive power with alternative means is becoming a new challenge. A new solution coming from the past, harvesting the potential of wind power, is seen as a viable option to make future shipping more sustainable. However, the return of wind power on board of ships must be adjusted to meet current ship specifications, designs and deck arrangements that are fundamentally different from designs common in the past. On the same lines, wind energy harvesting needs to be done in a smarter way, using technological advances and innovative designs of such systems: voyage efficiency nowadays is more demanding, since ships are heavier and larger, and of greater power demand, and service trading speeds have increased compared to the last century. This chapter discusses in depth the new developments and future challenges in wind propulsion technology, focusing on the use of the wind resource both for propulsion and for onboard power generation and providing practical advice on the estimation of the performance and applicability of these systems.