NANJING -- About 230 kilometers west of the estuary of China's Yangtze River, there is a service station on water for cargo ships. The station, providing convenience for passing crews, has achieved carbon neutrality since it started trial operation in August.

Photovoltaic power generation is estimated to have enabled the station in the city of Jiangyin, East China's Jiangsu province, to save almost 80,000 degrees of green electricity generated from renewable sources each year.

With a total length of 360 meters, the station consists of four oil barges lined with photovoltaic panels and can simultaneously supply oil for five 10,000-tonne-class ships.

"A total of 420 photovoltaic panels were installed here, with an area of nearly 1,100 square meters and a combined installed power generation capacity of 248 kilowatts," said Song Zhaoguo, vice general manager of the station's developer and operator Chimbusco, a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping.

The service station is connected to power by cable under the river. "Priority is given to the use of photovoltaic power generation," said Song, adding that the remaining power is sent to the grid through the cable.

The life cycle of the service station's photovoltaic power generation system is expected to reduce harmful emissions by 16,000 tonnes, saving costs and creating indirect economic benefits of about 825,000 yuan (roughly $117,000) each year.

Besides, an intelligent garbage collection device can conduct automatic weighing and upload the data to the maritime supervision platform in real time. The service station's current garbage collection and storage capacity is 110 cubic meters.

To efficiently cope with wastewater, the service station transformed a pair of oil tanks into sewage collection storage tanks. It transferred sewage and garbage to achieve "zero discharge" of pollutants.

"This service station on water with carbon neutrality is not only the epitome of China's green shipping, but also a 'green stop' along the Yangtze River," said Song.

At lunchtime, a drone flew from the nearby shore and delivered a barbecue set onto the service station's deck. "The drone has a takeoff weight of 50 kg and provides free delivery within 10 km," said Song.

The 24-hour station features multiple services, including a supermarket, basketball court, restaurant and cinema.

Two crew members were playing pool at the recreation area of the service station during the break time of refueling. "Loaded in Chongqing municipality and unloaded in Jiangsu, our ship often goes to the station on the return trip," said crew member Liu Gang.

"Life on water is relatively dull and boring," he said. "We seize the opportunity of refueling for several hours to relax at this service station."