The Town of Gibsons has set its sights on installing a new electric charging station in the harbour.
A staff report to council outlined some of the challenges that come with using electric propulsion on boats, reading it “proves effective only when shore facilities can support a charge aligning with the vessel’s duty cycle.”
According to the report domestic marine vessels in British Columbia account for “over 1.4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually,” and those emissions are on the rise.
The report says that Gibsons harbour is in a good position to serve commercial workboats and the only thing it’s lacking is the infrastructure.
The proposed “charge barge” could be built at a shipyard and then floated into the harbour where it would “seamlessly extend an existing dock.”
It also wouldn’t impact the existing power grid, as it works on a “trickle charge from existing shore power” which charges a battery pack that would be transferred to commercial ships in need of a re-charge.
With the addition of a “charge barge” Gibsons would gain the station while keeping infrastructure upgrades to a minimum.
