“Nice and quiet,” said a passenger during a recent trip aboard the Wenatchee, Washington State’s first hybrid-electric ferry. This summer, Washington State Ferries completed its long-anticipated conversion of the Wenatchee to run on clean energy. I was excited to take a ride.

The vessel is very quiet. Sound, or rather the lack of it, is the most noticeable change in service I experienced between downtown Seattle and Bainbridge Island as a walk-on passenger. With a lot of recent press around the state’s ferry system I thought it would be insightful to share a few of my thoughts about one of the latest projects to modernize the state’s fleet, restore reliable service, and reduce the climate pollution from our iconic state ferry system.

The late July afternoon was one of those Washington days that makes all the rain and gloom of the Pacific Northwest worth it. The sun was shining. There was a light breeze and the water was calm. The mountain was out. It wasn’t just out, it was on full display and joined in the sun by just about every mountain in Western Washington. It was simply beautiful and a great day to go for a boat ride.

One of the worst-kept secret “travel hacks” of Seattle is the fact that you can purchase a round trip passenger ticket for less than the cost of a sandwich downtown, and get a gorgeous boat tour of the Sound. Before its recent conversion, the Wenatchee spent 25 years as a conventional diesel ferry. Now as a new hybrid electric ferry the views are the same, the vessel is still its iconic white and green and you can even still get a bowl of chowder in the galley. What has changed is the vessel’s propulsion system. 

During my trip one of the Wenatchee’s deck crew described the changes as “like a Prius.” Converting the ferry to hybrid electric included replacing two of the large diesel engines with electric systems that include battery banks, converters, and electric motors. For now the remaining diesel generators are used to charge the vessel’s battery banks, just as in a hybrid electric car. In the short term, this is expected to reduce fuel consumption by 25% and reduce climate pollution by as much as 20%. Eventually, all-electric ferries batteries will be charged at the ferry terminal, reducing climate pollution by an expected 95%. 

There were complications during the conversion of the Wenatchee, including cost overruns and a longer than projected time in the shipyard. These problems are not surprising; groundbreaking projects often run into hurdles, and recent years have seen unpredictability in cost and supply issues. Due to these factors, and the pressure to improve ferry schedule reliability, the conversion of other Washington State ferries has been delayed until after the World Cup in 2026. 

The successes and failures of the Washington ferry story aren’t just about budget or jobs or even emissions reductions. This is a story about the challenges in front of us in tackling the climate crisis. Infrastructure has to work. It has to deliver an experience which is the same or better than existing services. Additionally it has to be delivered on a budget and timeline that is reasonable. That infrastructure has to support Washington’s workers, commuters, and visitors. Riding the converted ferry proves this technology not only works but in this case it delivers the iconic local experience you expect with the reduced climate pollution that our world deserves.