Navgathi Sun CRZ 9
Solar Powered Boats are gaining traction in India, and this can be witnessed by the Kerala governments new initiative which plans to renew the Old fleets of Boats with new ones fitted with Solar PV Modules for the it's powering Purposes. Also it's not just Kerala, fishing boats in Gujarat are also utilizing Solar Modules for it's powering needs.
The Company which is leading the Solar Powered Boat Market in India is Navgathi (link), which is a Kerala based Designer of Boats and other Marine Constructions. Navgathi designs boats capable of carrying 4 to 20 passengers at a time. Also during the 4th International Marine Boat Expo in Goa last year, they launched a compact 4 seater Solar boat Sun CRZ 9, which is having two variants SX and QX, which is driven by a 500W Propulsion motor, powered by 400W Solar PV system. The boat according to Navgathi, has a max speed of 5 Knots. The Dashboard of the Boat is fitted with a marine grade compass, also Navgathi says that even GPS navigation and Shore Charging facility is incorporated in the Premium model.
Also recently Navathi made news in the Gujarat, where they are currently converting Kerosene powered Pillana's, a local fishing boat, which is heavily used in fishing communities to Solar Power ones. They converted the boats by fitting Solar Panels on the rooftop which is made of Stainless steel. Also a suitable battery bank was equipped in the boat, which is capable of storing Solar Power. The Boat also contains shore charging unit which lets the fishermen charge their boat's while returning from sea, without using Solar Power. Navgathi management said these Solar Powered Pillana's gives the ROI within 6 years, and provides drastic reduction in Kerosene costs.
See Navgathi's Solar Boat in Action in Kerala
Article Written by Rahul R Prabhu
For more Queries contact: rprabhu@renewindians.com
