Support of "On shore Power Supply" (OPS) in ports

FACT SHEET NO.: Cat-No.3 / Subcat-No.3.4-2

3. Infrastructure

3.4 EU transport infrastructure in view of energy efficiency needs and climate change challenges

Support of "On shore Power Supply" (OPS) in ports

Ships generate a significant amount of air pollutants when they are travelling, but also when they are at berth in a port. When berthed, ships require power to support activities like loading / unloading, heating/cooling, lighting and other on board activities. Nowadays, this power is generally produced by auxiliary engines (mainly diesel generators on board) that produce severe amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), air pollutants and noise nuisance [1] [7]. As an alternative to current on board power generation (mostly by diesel engines), vessels can be linked up to an onshore power supply, i.e. connected to the local electricity grid. This way, ships’ operations at berth can proceed uninterrupted and negative effects can be reduced significantly. Currently, most ports are neither equipped with OPS to supply vessels with electricity from the dockside, nor are vessels equipped to receive power from OPS systems [7].

- There are several ports already using OPS, mainly in Europe (i.a. Antwerp, Goteborg, Stockholm, Oulu, Lübeck), but also in Canada (Vancouver) and the U.S. (i.a. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Seattle). A full list is available at www.wpci.com
- The "Environmental Ship Index" (ESI) is a voluntary system designed to improve the environmental performance of sea going vessels. It offers an instrument to visualize the environmental performance of ships regarding air pollutants and CO2 [3].
- "On Shore Power Supply - an integrated North Sea network" (Part of Priority Project 21). The project objective is to establish OPS at three freight ferry terminals for three kind of freight ferries (ro-ro vessels) that frequently call the terminals [5].
- In 2005 the European Commission decided to restrain sulphur levels in fuel used by ships at berth (Directive 2005/33/EC) to 0,1 % (sulphur limits of the fuels used by ships operating in European sea areas are 1.5%). This Directive should be seen as the first step in an ongoing process to reduce marine emissions [6].

Main objective of OPS is to reduce the environmental impact of seagoing vessels in ports and increase well-being of workers and residents near ports.

No key changes

Ports with a OPS will have an advantage compared to those who have not. Vessels and maritime transport operators which adjusted their ships to link to OPS will prefer ports with OPS, although existing transport patterns are not likely to change due to OPS.

No key changes

No key changes , although changes in origin / destination can influence the choice of routes.

Electricity is less expensive at night, so ships can change some activities from daytime to night. Still, travel times and most activities will not change because of working hours of harbour employees.

No key changes

Energy efficiency usage will depend on the energy source being used for OPS. Renewable energy is able to eliminate air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions almost completely, but when energy is being used from coal power plants OPS will emissions from ports to power plants.

[1] European Commission (2006): Commission recommendation on the promotion of shore-side electricity for use by ships at berth in Community ports (2006/339/EC), Brussels: Official Journal of the European Union
[2] Roels, P. (2009): Onshore Power Systems (OPS) - SIHARBOR / SIPLINK, Brussels: Siemens NV, Energy Transmission and Distribution
[3] World Ports Climate Initiative (2009): Environmental Ship Index - An instrument to measure a ships air emission performance.
[4] Dutt, S. (2009): Results from the questionnaire on current status and future plans regarding Onshore Power Supply 2009, Port of Gothenburg: World Ports Climate Initiative
[5] European Commission (2011): On Shore Power Supply - an integrated North Sea network, 2011-EU-21002-P, Part of Priority Project 21, Brussels: TTEN Executive Agency
[6] European Commission (2005): Regards the sulphur content of marine fuels, Directive 2005/33/EC, Brussels: Official Journal of the European Union
[7] World Ports Climate Initiative (2012): Onshore power supply, available at www.wpci.iaphworldports.org
[8] European Commission (2005): Service Contract on Ship Emissions: Assignment, Abatement and Market-based Instruments, Task 2a: Shore-Side Electricity, Entec UK Limited
[9] World Ports Climate Initiative (2008): Guidance document – Onshore Power Supply, C40 World ports climate conference Rotterdam 2008
[10] Ericsson, P., Fazlagic, I. (2008): Shore-side power supply: A feasibility study and a technical solution for an on-shore electrical infrastructure to supply vessels with electricity while in port, Göteborg: Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Energy and Environment
[11] Schade W. et. al. (2011): Bottom-up quantifications of selected measures to reduce GHG emissions of transport for the time horizons 2020 and 2050: Cost assessment of GHG mitigation measures of transport. Deliverable D3.1 of GHG-TransPoRD. Project cofunded by European Commission 7th RTD Programme. Fraunhofer-ISI, Karlsruhe, Germany.