Windship Farm
Windship Farm, Inc.
Funding Request
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Executive Summary
Over the next 15 years, renewable energy production will increase exponentially, rendering the world’s 810 supertankers obsolete. The value of these tankers will slowly become no more than their scrap metal value.
The goal of Windship Farm is to repurpose five of these supertankers to collect wind energy, store it onboard using Tesla batteries, then transfer the stored electrical energy to on-shore facilities.
Windship Farm, Inc. is seeking funds to repurpose disused supertankers to become mobile offshore wind turbine platforms.
Startup funding request: 560 million U.S. dollars (495 million euros, 3.57 billion yuan).
Windship I with two GE wind turbines
Seawise Giant
Five supertankers, similar to the Seawise Giant, 1,504 feet (458.45 meters) in length, will be purchased, along with 10 wind turbines similar to the GE Haliade 150-6, 328 feet (100 meters) in height, and weighting 370 metric tons each.
In 2009 the Seawise Giant was sold for 41 million dollars for scrap metal.
The GE Haliade 15-6 wind turbine cost approximately 9 million dollars each.
General Electric Haliade offshore Wind Turbines
Tesla Powerpacks
A refitted supertanker will carry 1,315 Tesla Powerpacks with a storage capacity of 1,933 megawatts.
How it works
After a supertanker is scrubbed clean of all petroleum residue, the deck will be reinforced with steel I-beams to support the weight and stress of the wind turbines.
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Two GE Haliade 15-6 wind turbines will be installed on deck and 1,315 Tesla Powerpacks will be installed below deck. The weight of the Powerpacks will be approximately the same as the previous crude oil cargo.
Corvus Blue Whale Electric Power Plant
The diesel engine will be replaced with two Corvus Blue Whale Electric power plants. The batteries for these power plants will be charged by the wind turbines. These engines will provide propulsion as well as energy to operate all the ship’s other services.
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When operational, Windship Farm can be placed in the areas of the world’s oceans where winds are most favorable and sea traffic is least. Being easily maneuverable they can sail out of the way of approaching storms.
When a Windship’s batteries are fully charged, taking approximately 32 days, it can dock at any facility where supertankers dock today. After docking, the ship’s umbilical electric cable can be attached to the local power grid to feed its stored energy into the system, thus reducing some of the need for fossil fuel electrical generation.
Alternately the Windships could be positioned offshore from large population centers and held in place by its two 36-ton anchors. With an undersea electrical cable it could be connected to the national power grid. Or the Tesla batteries on the ship could remain charged to provide backup power in case of disaster or power plants going off-line.
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Costs Overview
Ship I
1. Supertanker destined for scrap 41,000,000 USD
2. 2 GE Haliade 15-6 Wind Turbines at 9 million each 18,000,000
3. 1,315 Tesla Powerpacks at 1.2 million each 16,000,000
4. 2 Corvus Blue Whale Electric power plants, 11 million each 22,000,000
5. Cleaning and refitting of the ship 146,000,000
6. Yearly expense for operation and maintenance 107,000,000
7. Miscellaneous expenses 210,000,000
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560,000,000 USD
495 million euros
3.57 billion yuan
Miscellaneous expenses include items such as dock fees, licenses, legal fees, insurance, office space, fulltime personnel salaries and benefits, robotic hull cleaning equipment, installation of fire suppression systems, public relations, social media interaction, recruiting ship’s officers and staff, and onboard security personnel to protect against pirates.
Project Narrative
Crude oil supertankers are some of the largest sources of atmospheric and seawater pollution on the planet.
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As quoted on Green Car Reports at,
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“A seagoing container vessel is just as polluting as up to 50 million cars.”
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According to the BBC at www.bbc.com/news/world-43714029, “Germany’s CO2 and overall greenhouse emissions account for about 2.2% and 1.9% of the world's total respectively, according to European Commission’s most up-to-date figures—about the same percentages as the international shipping industry.”
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Each Windship will have a zero carbon footprint and by replacing some fossil-fuel power production, they will effectively remove millions of tons of CO2 from the earth’s atmosphere every year.
Hornsdale Power Reserve
The wind-powered Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia is now in full operation. It has 102 Tesla Powerpacks installed weighing 4,853 tons (4,402 metric tons) with a combined capacity of 150 megawatts. Each Powerpack weighs 23 tons (20.87 metric tons) and costs $1,235,890 (A$1,735,069 or 1,398,856 euros)
A supertanker capacity is 84 million gallons of crude oil weighing 605 million pounds, or 30,250 tons.
With each Tesla Powerpack weighing 23 tons, and having a capacity of storing 1.47 megawatts of energy, a refitted supertanker could carry 1,315 Powerpacks with a storage capacity of 1,933 megawatts, equivalent to 12.8 Hornsdale Power Reserves. That would provide enough energy to power a city the size of Albany, N.Y. (population of over 90,000) for two hours.
It will take 32 days for the two wind turbines on a Windship to bring its batteries to full charge. It could then dock at any tanker facility and connect its electrical umbilical cable to the power grid, thus lessening the load on fossil fuel power generating plants.
Similar project
A Japanese startup, PowerX, has developed a concept called ‘Power ARK’, a power-transfer vessel.
Power ARK
The Power ARK will have a battery storage capacity of 220 megawatts and will be charged at sea from offshore wind turbines and then the ship will return to shore to feed the power into the electrical grid.
A prototype of the ship is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025.
PowerX will build an automated gigafactory in Japan to produce the needed batteries.
The primary differences between the Power ARK and a Windship are:
1. The Windship will have a capacity of 1,933 megawatts storage capacity, 9 times as much as the Power ARK.
2. Each Windship will be equipped with its own wind turbines which would allow one ship, or the entire Windship Farm consisting of a fleet of 5 Windships, to be positioned anywhere in the world where they are needed.
3. The Windships will use proven Tesla batteries where the Power ARK will have to wait for the gigafactory in Japan to be designed and built.
4. The Power ARK will be powered by a combination of electricity and biodiesel, while the Windships will be 100 percent electric-powered, giving it a zero carbon footprint.
5. The Windships will be configured using current technology and equipment. The Power ARK and battery gigafactory are still in the planning stages.
6. The first Windship will be ready to begin operations within 2 years of being funded, estimated to be December 2023, 2 years ahead of the Power ARK prototype.
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Risks
With any industrial activity, there is a risk to the environment. If the potential damage to the environment is rated on a scale of 1 to 1000 where the Exxon Valdez disaster is ranked at 1000, a catastrophic loss of a Windship would be ranked at less than 2 on that scale.
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This estimate is based on the number of lithium batteries spontaneously bursting into flames on aircraft and transport trucks.
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In Alaska’s Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the bay. It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history until the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in 2010. The Exxon Valdez crude covered over 1,200 miles of coastline and killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds, otters, whales, salmon, seals, and other marine life. The cleanup cost 7 billion dollars and, thirty-two years later, slicks of oil are still washing up on the beaches.
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There have been almost 350 reported aviation and vehicle incidents involving lithium batteries resulted in an estimated cost of 425 million dollars, but with no loss of life or environmental damage.
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Fire Suppression
The Novec 1230 fire suppression system will be installed in all Windships. It works by removing heat to extinguish fires. All fires need heat, oxygen, and a fuel source to continue to burn. By removing any of these three elements, a fire will be extinguished. Other fire suppression agents, such as carbon dioxide, remove oxygen. Novec removes heat instead of oxygen, making it safe to use in occupied spaces because it doesn’t pose a suffocation risk for people. The other important factor is that it will not damage equipment as a water fire suppression system would. The Novec system would be triggered when the temperature exceeds 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hull Cleaning and Inspection
The hull of any seagoing vessel comes under attack by microorganisms, bacteria, and barnacles. This biofilm will result in increased drag and possible damage. A ship’s hull must be cleaned periodically to remove this threat.
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The Windships will use a Greensea crawler robot to clean the hulls
Greensea Crawler Robot
The crawler robot will clean the hull leaving no residue detrimental to the environment while also inspecting the vessel for defects such as rust or contact-damage.
Life Expectancy
With proper maintenance, Windship Farm will have a projected production life expectancy of 45 years.
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Matching Funds
After initial funding is secured, Windship Farm, Inc. plans to ask national government bodies including the EU for additional funds equal to or greater than the first round of funding.
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Initial Public Offering (IPO)
Windship Farm, Inc. may eventually list shares on stock exchanges through an IPO by merging with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).
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Contact Information
Charley Brindley, President and CEO, Windship Farm, Inc.
Website: www.windshipfarm.com
Email: charleybrindley@yahoo.com
Phone: +1 417-241-1322
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