Mobile shore power solutions are particularly suitable for smaller ports or in port sections that are less utilised, a new study finds.
Commissioned by NOW, the study entitled ‘Mobile shore power – technological possibilities and prerequisites‘, conducted by consultancies Hanseatic Transport Consultancy and MKO Marine Consulting, evaluates technological possibilities as well as prerequisites for the use of mobile shore power solutions in German ports.
It should aid ports in switching to this climate-friendly technology option. The results of the study were presented at the e4ports symposium in Hamburg last week.
Ships docked at ports are usually supplied with electricity with the aid of auxiliary diesel engines – a burden on the climate, but also for residents in the surrounding area of port areas. One solution is the switch to shore power systems that provide noiseless and (locally) emission-free electricity. For this reason, there are plans in almost all German seaports to roll out such shore power solutions.
In addition, the EU is setting the following target in its ‘Fit for 55’ package: containers and passenger ships that dock for longer than two hours at the port will be obliged to use shore power and must cover the entire energy requirement at berth from 2030 in this manner.
For this purpose, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) has been supporting both environmentally-friendly onboard power systems for seagoing and inland waterway vessels as well as mobile shore power systems (containerized, rolling or swimming) in the marine funding programme: ‘Onboard power tech’ since 2020.
Because of their greater flexibility, mobile shore power solutions are often a good alternative to stationary systems. However there is a lack of experience here – many mobile solutions are still in the development or testing phase.
Test deployments have revealed various challenges, including licensing issues or acceptance problems. Mobile shore power solutions have therefore hardly been used in (German) seaports.-World Maritime News
