6/12/2011 Port of Gothenburg was one of the winners in the prestigious Energy Globe Awards 2011 for its work on shoreside power connection for vessels at berth. The award, EUR 10,000 and a 17 kg bronze statue, was presented at a gala in Austria.

The Energy Globe World Awards aim to promote clean, renewable energy sources and are awarded in five categories: Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Youth. The awards have been presented since 1999 and are now one of the world's most prestigious environmental awards.

Susann Dutt, Sustainability Manager at the Port of Gothenburg, was there to receive the award:

­"It is incredibly gratifying and an honour to receive this prestigious award. The fact that we been so successful with shoreside power supply can be attributed to the close collaboration between the Port and our customers. Hopefully, the attention this will attract will contribute to more ports and shipping companies investing in shoreside power supply.

Click here for more information.

04/03/2011  Color Line ships are to have OPS while they are berthed in Oslo. The facility planned for summer 2011 can supply up to 4.5 MW. Color Line has received financial support from Transnova, Enova and Oslo Havn KF when converting to the new technology. The Color Line ships are the first large vessels in Norway to convert to onshore electrical power. For more information, click here.

21/02/2011  In the context of the revision of the EU Directive on energy and electricity taxation (2003/96/EC), the introduction of a tax exemption for the electricity provided to seagoing vessels through Onshore Power Supply (OPS) systems is under discussion. ESPO and ECSA indicate in their position paper on the fiscal treatment of OPS that the competitive position for onshore power supply against the burning of bunker fuels in on-board engines is negatively impacted by the fact that fuels used in maritime transport are not subject to excise duties.

The Commission recommend OPS as a solution that should be considered in Member States. The Commission is now studying how to address the tax treatment of OPS. Commissioner Šemeta stated that it too early to give an indication of the content of the possible proposal.

26/01/2011  This week a further step was taken towards cleaner shipping in Gothenburg. Stena Line inaugurates a completely new onshore power supply facility, including a frequency transformer, for the company's ferries operating between Sweden and Germany. In total, one in three vessels that put into the Port of Gothenburg can now turn off their diesel engines at the quayside and instead use green, Onshore Power Supply (OPS).

"Gothenburg is a living port city and shipping is part of the city's soul. It is a matter of ensuring that the highly important ferry traffic is as optimal as possible in environmental terms, especially close to the city centre. Connecting the vessels to onshore power supply is a forceful measure to reduce emissions and noise," states Magnus Kårestedt, chief executive of the Port of Gothenburg.

The new Onshore Power Supply facility, which has been developed by ABB, is the result of a joint investment initiative by Stena Line and the Port of Gothenburg. With the commissioning of the new facility all Stena Line's five passenger and freight ferries will be connected to onshore power supply when at berth. In total, one in three vessels that put into Gothenburg can use this technology - a unique figure in international terms.

New technology that can be spread to other ports
What is unique about the new facility is that it transforms 50 hertz, the standard frequency for alternating current in Europe, to 60 hertz, which is the system frequency used on the majority of vessels.
In many parts of the world preparations are under way to make the ports more eco-friendly through the use of Onshore Power Supply. A key part of this process is producing a joint international standard for connections and in this respect the new facility at the Port of Gothenburg could act as a role model.

Preliminary study aimed at connecting more vessels
At present it is passenger and freight carriers operating scheduled traffic within Europe that use this technology. A preliminary study is now being conducted to examine the possibility of offering the same eco-smart opportunity to the container vessels and cruise ships that put into Gothenburg.

18/09/2010  APL has been retrofitting its C-11 class vessels with OPS capabilities throughout 2010. The last of the five ships returned to service this month from the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore.
The ships are scheduled to plug in at port beginning early in 2011. That's when APL expects to complete a construction project to electrify its Oakland vessel berths for cold-ironing. APL has been awarded two grants, totaling $4.8 million, for the cold-ironing project. Part of that funding helped finance the month-long retrofit of each ship. Every one of the five vessels has been equipped with:

• A transformer that steps down 6,600-volt shoreside power to the 480-volt power used aboard ships;
• Room-size enclosures that house the receptacles where shore-power cables are connected to the vessels; and
• 8,000 meters of cabling that run from the receptacles through the transformer and into the vessel's electrical control panel.

Click here for more information

16/09/2010  The Government of Canada will invest $2.5 million in the Prince Rupert Port Authority's (PRPA's) Fairview Terminal project to provide shore power capacity to container ships through an electric cable management system. Prince Rupert will be the first Canadian port to offer shore power for container ships.

The Fairview Container Terminal is a dedicated intermodal facility providing a high-velocity gateway for transpacific container trade. It anchors the fastest and most reliable trade corridor on the West Coast, providing shippers with a significant advantage over alternative gateways. The terminal, with a design capacity of over 500,000 TEUs, features a marine berth capable of accommodating 12,000-TEU container ships with direct and unimpeded access from international shipping lanes. A dock rail adjacent to the berth provides efficient intermodal operations in building trains of up to 3,600 metres.

Click here for more information

13/09/2010   The Dutch government has announced that shipping companies and seaport terminals seeking to implement projects to establish so-called onshore power supply (OPS) will be eligible for subsidy. For the time being the scheme, published in the Government Gazette, will apply only to the Port of Rotterdam.
With the recent economic downturn ports have seen a decline in cargo volumes, however, which means companies are finding it hard to put up the costs of quayside power supply themselves.
Minister Eurlings has passed a Decree on subsidies for OPS. According to the minister, installing OPS "creates an opportunity to research and implement innovative solutions, such as power hook-ups to a so-called ‘smart grid 2' or to wind turbines".
The maximum subsidy has been set at 750,000 Euro. Grant applications are to be filed within six weeks. The subsidy scheme, will remain in force for a period of four years.

Click here for more information (in Dutch)

20/06/2010   Stena Line is the first Dutch sea port terminal that will make use of onshore power supply. During the year 2011, the ships of Stena Line will be switched to OPS. The terminal is situated close to the city of Hoek van Holland in the Port of Rotterdam area.

Stena Line director De Lange underlined the interest of the use of OPS: "Onshore power and Stena Line is a good match. OPS is progressive, sustainable and a way to achieve clean shipping."

The system consists of a 20 kV power supply that is transformed to 11kV at the terminal. Depending on the onboard systems, the power can be supplied to the ship in either a 50 or 60 Hz frequency. Onboard, the power is further reduced to 440 Volt and distributed by the switchboard.

The installation of OPS costs several million Euro. Stena Line financed the adjustment of the ship systems. The Port of Rotterdam, the Ministry of Transport and the local authorities, contributed to the shore side investments.

Four RoRo ships that sail in a regular scheme will be using onshore power from 2011 on. The new OPS ready supper ferry Stena Hollandica was launched on June 8.

Source: Port of Rotterdam