The Port of Seattle in Washington, US is working on plans to extend shore power to more piers. It is the first port in North America to provide shore power in its 2 Seattle cruise berths located at Terminal 91. The port has further planned to connect shore power to other major facilities at its waterfront. The facilities located at the waterfront will be provided shore power through underwater cables to all 4 cruise berths.
Once completed, the underwater submarine cables are envisioned to connect to the city grid at a location proposed for the shore power service for terminal 46. Thus, establishing shore power connectivity for cruise ships at all 4 cruise vessel berths at the Seattle port. The port project will be the most energy-efficient and green port in North America.
MarketsandMarkets™ Viewpoint
Ajay Talyan – Analyst: Energy & Power Sector at MarketsandMarkets™ shares his views:
The docked ship at the port needs power for operations such as cooling/heating, HVAC systems, ventilation systems, and other related equipment. An auxiliary engine and generator provide power for such operations. The auxiliary engines and generators produce CO2 as they run on diesel fuel, which creates harmful surroundings increasing marine carbon footprint in the port and locations in the vicinity.
The concept of shore power overcomes and reduces carbon footprint. It entails the ship, at the time of mooring, to be connected to the local grid or smaller power plant situated at the docks to draw electrical power for its requirements, instead of diesel-based power. It is offered by both wired and wireless mode of operations.
Impact on Port Operations Worldwide
The Seattle port’s recent move is expected to drive a change in the port operations, leading to highly efficient low-cost carbon-free operations. The use of shore power has other following benefits:
1. Onboard port electrical power can be used effectively.
2. Power provided can be from a renewable non-polluting source such as hydropower.
3. Decrease in the health and environmental impact in port cities.
4. Lower sound pollution.
There are regulations in force for the reduction of marine pollution. As per regulations in China, all new terminals must install shoreside electric power facilities to encourage marine vessels to turn off their diesel power engines while at berth.
In another move, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has mandated a 2020 deadline for ships to conform with the low sulfur fuel oil requirement. Effective 1st January 2020, the marine vessel owners must comply with the decision to implement a global sulfur limit of 0.50% m/m (mass/mass) in their vessel fuel.
Introduction of regulations by the international and global governments is expected to lead to higher adoption of shore power technologies across global port operations.
Impact on Market
As the pressure to reduce the carbon footprint has been rising, the ports globally have begun to incorporate shore power technologies. Shore power has been installed worldwide in more than 10 ports in the past decade.
Table 1. 5 Ports that Incorporated Shore Power in Current Decade (2010–2020)
Source: MarketsandMarkets™ Analysis
In this scenario, a greater number of ports are expected to follow the shore power technology adoption trend to reduce carbon emissions.
Changing Technology and Structure of Port Operations
The global shore power market is projected to reach USD 2.7 billion by 2024 from an estimated market size of USD 1.4 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 13.3% during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is estimated to be the largest market from 2019 to 2024.
The frequency converter segment is expected to hold the largest market share, by component, of the shore power market and is the fastest growing segment during the forecast period.
The below figure shows the segmentation of the shore power market, based on installation, into shoreside and shipside. The shoreside segment accounted for a larger share of the shore power market in 2018 and is projected to dominate the market until 2024.
Figure 1: Shore Power Market, by Installation
Source: MarketsandMarkets™ Analysis
Conclusion
The marine industry has reached a saturation point with regard to high water and air pollution through traditional methods. Thus, new optimization methods through the use of green technologies have to be implemented and integrated into this particular industry. The implementation and integration of novel technologies and solutions such as shore power will play a key role in providing green power solutions. In this regard, green power solutions are introduced by industry players such as ABB, Siemens, Schneider Electric, and Wärtsilä to cater to the marine industry. The major beneficiaries of this model would be the new entrants, mainly ports in Asia Pacific and Africa. The integration of shore power will become a preferred option in the marine industry. It enables a better relationship between ports and nearby communities by reducing carbon emissions generated from port operations and eliminates emissions from ships at berth, often the biggest polluters at a port. As more ports build the shore power infrastructure, the networking effect will increase the utilization rate of the shore power equipment by ships. Therefore, helping to reduce the overall cost and reinforcing the appeal of shore power.
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