Hybrid bio-diesel and electric power

Fort Lauderdale-based Canal Boats has recently finished building the world?s first hybrid bio-diesel and electric-powered ferry. The Clay Shaw is the first of eight water buses the yard is building for Broward County Mass Transit in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The electrically-driven boats have a ?green? power system. Each has a 100kW John Deere genset. This runs on bio-diesel, an 80/20 mix of diesel fuel and vegetable oil. A bank of 6V DeKa batteries also provides 240V of power to Baldor drive motors, through Danfoss variable frequency drives. The boats have a length just under 12m, a beam of 3.5m and a draught of under 1m. All eight water buses will operate a service linking Broward?s public road/rail transport system. Broward County has received $2 million of federal mass transit grants. Over the next three years the ferries operator, Bekoff?s Water Bus, will benefit from $1.5 million of operating subsidies.