That trip to Alcatraz is going hybrid

Approximately 1.4 million people make the trip across the bay to Alcatraz Prison each year and that means some pretty hefty fuel bills for Alcatraz Cruises, the company responsible for ferrying all those tourists back and forth. In order to reduce those costs and to hop on the environmentally friendly bandwagon Alcatraz Cruises has launched its own green solution in the shape of the Hornblower Hybrid ferry.

The ferry will be using two wind turbines and a solar array to generate power the navigation tools, lighting and to a certain extend its propulsion system. When idling or in low propulsion mode it will be powered by its batteries, which are charged by the wind turbines and solar array. When operating under full power it will use the Tier 2 marine diesel engines which reportedly used less fuel than regular marine diesel engines.

In addition to its energy efficiency the Hornblower Hybrid has meet the stringent LEED requirements with its use of recycled goods in its construction. One of the recycled products apparently is vodka bottles which were used in the making of the countertops in the ferry along with its carpets.

[Source pics: Inhabitat]