Mackinac Island Ferry Set for Electric Conversion

A Mackinac Island passenger ferry will be converted to zero-emissions electric power with the help of a $3.06 million award from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Fuel Transformation Program (FTP) Part 2.

Star Line, now known as the Mackinac Island Ferry Company (MIFC), will replace two 1988 diesel engines with two brand new electric propulsion motors on a ferry, the Chippewa, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14,152 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents and 887 metric tons of nitrogen oxides over the boat’s lifetime. The project will begin immediately as part of a two- to three-year overhaul that will redesign and modernize the vessel's hull and appearance.

“The ferry trip to Mackinac Island is Michigan at its best — a view of our two peninsulas and the Mighty Mac while gliding through our Great Lakes. Now, with a new grant from EGLE, one of the iconic island ferry fleets is switching to electric, ensuring that this Pure Michigan journey is more cost-effective and sustainable for decades to come,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “We are continuing to make investments to lead the future of mobility and electrification, so we can grow our economy, create good-paying jobs, and lower energy costs for families and businesses. Our mobility leadership must extend from electric cars and buses on the road to industrial power and watercraft, too.

“Converting a ferry in the Mackinac fleet to electric will build on our clean-energy leadership and help us achieve the goals of the MI Healthy Climate Plan to make our state carbon-neutral by 2050. The budget I put forward includes several investments in this space, and today’s ferry grant is another step forward as we build a brighter future for Michigan.”

The grant covers half the cost of the project, which includes installing 1.5 megawatts in shore power infrastructure at the Mackinaw City ferry dock, as electric power upgrades are also planned for the ports of St. Ignace and Mackinac Island.

“This project is a first critical step in the strategy to upgrade and modernize marine transportation in the Straits of Mackinac,” said Director Chris Byrnes of the Mackinac Economic Alliance (MEA). “Of course, Mackinac Island is famous for alternative modes of transportation, as cars are not allowed on the island. Everyone walks, rides bikes or horses and, of course, ferry boats, so the island is already a Michigan leader in alternative forms of transportation.”

As the primary means of transportation to Mackinac Island, ferries serve about 500 year-round islanders and 750,000 visitors a year, with a summer peak of more than 16,500 a day. During peak months, ferries make up to 125 round trips daily. The 84-foot ferry Chippewa, built in 1962, is expected to carry 250-300 passengers after the electric conversion and MIFC’s concurrent redesign and modernization of the vessel.
After converting the Chippewa to electric power, MIFC intends to similarly upgrade the propulsion systems on its other seven steel vessels that operate passenger or freight service to Mackinac Island. Eventually, MIFC will evaluate its seven high-speed aluminum passenger vessels for upgrades to electric or hybrid electric propulsion.

The Chippewa conversion is a pilot project for electrification of 28 Mackinac Island ferries in all. It marks the launch of the MEA’s Mackinac Marine Mobility Strategic Plan to create full-time, year-round marine and shipbuilding jobs in the straits region. Also partnering in the project is lncat Crowther.

The project is the first initiative from the Mackinac Island Transportation Master Plan, conducted by the Michigan Department of Transportation as a piece of a larger initiative to modernize the ferry fleet and freight ships serving the region. That effort includes transition from fossil fuels, supported by creating local shipbuilding and servicing jobs and a marine industry training hub. The long-term goal is to transition all 138 Upper Great Lakes ships in the 50- to 200-ton range to electric or hybrid-electric power.

In a related move in January, plans to build a new, more efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly Charlevoix-to-Beaver Island passenger ferry advanced with a $6.63 million federal grant added to a previous $14 million investment from the state.

A separate FTP Part 2 grant of $2.18 million to the city of Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula will cover approximately two-thirds of the cost to install electric shore power at an international dock just downstream from the Soo Locks, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 9,405 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents and 650 metric tons of nitrogen oxides, over the project’s lifespan.

The shore power, supplied by nearly 50% renewable energy, will reduce the need for docked vessels to idle their diesel engines, lowering carbon emissions and improving air quality for nearby workers, visitors, and residents. Part of the match for the project comes from a 2018 federal grant of $20.7 million awarded to the City of Sault Ste. Marie to rehabilitate the Carbide Dock Port.

Meanwhile, Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) is working to launch a grant program aimed at accelerating Great Lakes marinas’ decarbonization efforts, helping companies test and deploy recreational and commercial alternative-based fueled or electric powered technologies, and driving private-sector investment to bolster economic development across the state.