Is it worth it? Costs, savings, financing and subsidies for electric and solar boats, and how they compare with diesel in real service.
What belongs here
- Total cost of ownership (TCO) and NPV: electric vs diesel
- Purchase costs: hull, powertrain, battery, solar
- Running costs: electricity vs fuel, maintenance, crew, battery replacement
- Financing, subsidies, government schemes, green funding
- Revenue: ticket pricing, occupancy, route planning, timetables
- Real operating data. Actual daily energy use, fuel saved and maintenance after a year in service are among the most valuable things anyone can share.
- Emissions and carbon accounting
What goes elsewhere
- Technical sizing of batteries and solar → Energy
- How much power the boat needs → Resistance & Propulsion
When asking a question, include: vessel type, daily route and operating days per year, your fuel and electricity prices, and the currency. Prices vary a lot between countries, so say where you are.
Sharing numbers: round them or leave out what’s commercially sensitive. Even rough figures (“battery about 30% of boat cost”, “electricity costs a fifth of the diesel”) help others.