Mastodawn

So, I didn't check the calculation, because it seems plausible.
But

How many panels in a container?
https://www.mobilesolarcontainer.com/blog/how-much-solar-panels-in-a-shipping-container/

700 in a 40ft (2TEU) container

How many containers on a container ship?
Google: 20000

How much electricity from 1 panel
Lets say 400Wp

How many hours per day?
Lets say 8 (ignoring tailing on and off at the ends of a longer day)

How many days - years - for
Lets say 365*25=9125 and call it 10000

I make that 44 800 TWh
But please check it

Now, LNG tankers...

How Many Solar Panels Fit in a Shipping Container? A Practical Guide to Solar Deployment & Shipping

In our solar container solutions, a 40ft High Cube typically accommodates 700–750 solar panels.

Mobile solar container systems

Google: A "standard LNG carrier" holds 3.6Petajoules (We shall have 50 of them)

So now we have to convert between kWh and PJ, and I can't be bothered, dive in.

44 800 TWh vs 3.6PJ * 50

MidgePhoto Feb 28

Now, if one were to buy the contents of, say, 50 #LNG carriers, what would that #cost? Delivered at power stations etc ready to burn.

MidgePhoto Feb 28

32Euros per MWh
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/eu-natural-gas

Per tonne might be handier, but 3.6 thousand million MWh per ship would be
115200 Million Euros
(and 50 is 5.76E12)

Leaving aside the cost of operating and servicing the power station that is burned in (solar farms need building and an occasional wipe over)
How much does a shipload of solar panels cost, containers delivered where one wants to build?

(No clue, actually, but rather less than that. And you can sell the electricity for the same price.)

EU Natural Gas - Price - Chart - Historical Data - News

TTF Gas fell to 27.09 EUR/MWh on December 4, 2025, down 3.50% from the previous day. Over the past month, TTF Gas's price has fallen 14.87%, and is down 41.72% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. EU Natural Gas - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

Future Sprog Feb 27

4.48TWh = 4.48e10 KWh

= 1.6128e17 J

= 161.28 PJ

@futuresprog (3.6PJ is conveniently about 1000GWh isn't it, so about 45 ships at 25 years.)

Later: Aha! The #conversion of the thermal energy of the LNG into electricity in a power plant is no more than 50%

So perhaps 90 ships at 25 years.

(OTOH if the rejected heat can be used for something useful - eg distilling water, or heating the neighbourhood in winter, or some industrial process - then the difference is less bad)

Toni Aittoniemi Feb 26

@Photo55 And the Trump government willbe damned if they let anyone get a wiff of that!

https://reneweconomy.com.au/one-ship-load-of-solar-pv-is-worth-more-to-the-grid-than-100-ships-of-coal-iea-says-fossil-fuels-losing-race/

Future Sprog Feb 26

Do you have a link to this study?

Here’s some 2024 reporting by @RenewEconomyRSSFeed

One ship load of solar PV is worth more to the grid than 100 ships of coal: IEA says fossil fuels losing race

One container ship of solar PV modules can make the same amount of electricity as 100 ships of coal, according to the IEA's latest report.

Renew Economy

MidgePhoto Feb 26

@futuresprog
I think one would have to either ask the journalist or the IEA to show workings, or do a check calculation.

Pick a size of coal ship/LNG tanker, look up the calorific value, multiply by the tonnes in a hundred.
Then look at the payload of a comparable container ship stacked with solar panels, and try the numbers for a plausible location and 25 and 40 years life allowing for observed degradation rates.

It has a face plausibility, and was offered as direct reporting of IEA.

Future Sprog Feb 26

My main complaint is that the journalist cites IEA but then does not link to the research they are citing.

LNG tankers are fairly standard sized. You can track them on Bloomberg and Marine Traffic and other sites show where they are. Maybe 180,000 cubic metres?

Degradation of solar panels over 30+ years has been shown to be lower than expected. The usual peak wattage figures are based on their minimum output at year 10 (depending on warranty).

@futuresprog
I don't think it is research.
Just (rough) calculation.
Like telling us an asteroid in a close orbit is the size of Wales or a double decker bus.

@futuresprog @RenewEconomyRSSFeed
See above for sums.

Given quite lazy assumptions it is something about 44.8 times at 25 years.

Leave them there for a while, or use bigger better panels, tighter packing, or a bigger ship, and it'll be correct.

Future Sprog Feb 27

Nice one! Thank you!

New install solar panels at retail nowadays are 450-460W, rather than the conservative 400W in your calculations.

Still need a mathologist to do the kWp <> pJ conversion for us.

https://mastodon.social/@Photo55/116143322274437455

Felix Schaumburg Feb 26

@Photo55 So it doesn't really make any economic sense to transport solar panels, because much more money can be made with the other goods. #sarcasm

MidgePhoto Feb 26

@schb probably can't be. This was about electricity, not money. Transporting a shipload of something that isn't bought is a way to lose a lot of money.
And we know that if we want to make electricity it is cheaper to add solar and wind and batteries than to shovel coal in.

That's why Texas has so much solar.

Cassian Feb 26

@Photo55 Source: https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/factcheck/solar/index.html

Factcheck: 16 misleading myths about solar

Carbon Brief factchecks 16 of the most common myths about solar power

Carbon Brief

@cassolotl I'm missing your point there, and don't think the graphic is helpful.
Ive read that helpful page previously, and not seen any reference to 50, 100, or I think any ships as a comparator.
Could you help more precisely please?

Cassian Feb 27

@Photo55 I believe that if you are going to post a random quote on the internet you should include the place that you copy-pasted it from. This is where that exact quote is copy-pasted from, and it allows the people boosting your post to read the original source and assess its reliability.

Knust Feb 27

@Photo55 how do the gas and coal ships generate power?

@Knust
Seriously?
Why is the gas or coal being shipped?

There's an underlying point there as well, that a lot of shipping, and then heavy vehicles on roads, is just to move fossil fuels from where they came out of the ground, through a refinery - or two* - and then on to where they will be burned to generate forward motion. And thus a lot of oil is burned to shift that shipping.
BEVs, wind, solar, etc, reduce that parasitic burning and CO2.

* the rather unnecessary Venezuelan oil doesn't flow easily, so Naptha refined from lighter oil in other places is shipped there to mix with it, then the mixture goes to a refinery.
Fascinating chemistry, huge targets if you are at war.