Samskip tests wind power at sea with turbine containers

Two of Samskip’s cargo ships are testing wind-generated electricity using modified shipping containers, mbl.is reports. The containers, fitted with turbines, have been installed on the top layer of the deck cargo stacks of the Helgafell and Arnarfell.

“These are important experiments, where technological development and sustainability are the key words,” Guðmundur Óskarsson, head of transport management at Samskip, said.

The 40-foot containers have had sections cut out of their sides, allowing wind to pass through and drive a screw or turbine inside. The first turbine containers were placed on the ships in August, and data is now being collected for the project, known as Whisper.

The Icelandic innovation company Sidewind is leading the project, which also involves other partners and receives support from the European Union for development and knowledge-building.

A horizontal-axis wind turbine connected to the Whisper project has operated on land in Ölfus, on the western side of Ingólfsfjall between Hveragerði and Selfoss, since early 2023. It has a generation capacity of 10 kilowatts. Similar equipment has now been placed on the cargo ships to take the testing further.

For now, the turbines are simply being allowed to rotate so the project team can assess how they operate. The equipment is monitored through WiFi connections by the ships’ deck and engineering crews, as well as by the team on land.

“The electricity generated is currently allowed to run into the cosmos, but the future is of course to connect it to the ships’ electrical systems and, for example, use it for refrigerated containers on deck,” Guðmundur said.

Solar cells have also been installed on top of the turbine containers, adding another source of electricity to the trials.

In recent tests, the cargo ships have sailed between Aarhus in Denmark, Runavík on the island of Austurey in the Faroe Islands, and Reykjavík. The Arnarfell returned from a voyage to those ports yesterday morning. Conditions in the straits were calm, although the weather can be very different farther out at sea.

Guðmundur said the sea between Iceland and the Faroe Islands is well suited to testing offshore wind power because it experiences a wide range of weather and wind directions. He described the project as a collaboration between an established shipping company and an Icelandic innovation company, aimed at making sea transport more sustainable.