NEWPORT, Ky. (AP) — The managers of the Belle of Cincinnati riverboat want to go green.
Newport-based BB Riverboats is seeking a $500,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant to retrofit its flagship Belle of Cincinnati with three new, more efficient electric generators.
BB Riverboats owner Alan Bernstein said that if his company gets the grants, BB Riverboats will apply for another one to replace the three diesel engines on the boat with modern, fuel-efficient ones. BB Riverboats would then seek to replace generators and engines on its other two smaller boats — Mark Twain and River Queen.
"We are doing several things in our company to do more green ideas," Bernstein said. "We thought we would take the initiative. We feel it is beneficial for us to do that."
The EPA grant is part of the National Clean Diesel Campaign, which received $300 million nationally from the stimulus act to reduce diesel emissions.
The Belle of Cincinnati's engines are from when the ship was built in 1991. The 225-foot-long boat was built as a floating casino in Iowa and was bought by BB Riverboats in the late 1990s.
"Our other boats are not nearly as expensive and complicated as the Belle of Cincinnati," Bernstein said. "It is our biggest boat. It has the biggest impact environmentally."
Bernstein said replacing the engines and generators will cut diesel fuel consumption by one-third and carbon emissions by half. The replacement of the generators would also involve an improved cooling system and other upgrades, Bernstein said.
The Newport City Commission agreed to apply for the EPA grant on behalf of BB Riverboats since only a nonprofit or government agency can apply, said Ryan Wyrick, the city's business development officer.
"It is a chance for us to help a local business," Wyrick said. "By replacing the engines, they can keep it running here a long time."
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