Wind, solar, even tidal power generators, along with biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants and kinetic road plates could soon be common place at ports throughout the world as port authorities and their tenants look for energy independence and greater efficiency in meeting the power requirements of a growing number of electrically-driven vehicles and equipment.

The UK's Associated British Ports, like other operators that take power straight from the grid, is developing its own power generation source to feed its electric drive cargo handling systems, buildings, motors, heat and cooling systems and so on. It currently has 90MW of wind turbine-generated power in the planning stage for South Wales’ ports and last month signed an agreement for a biomass CHP plant to feed its Southampton Container Terminal. This would generate 50% of the terminal and its tenants’ power requirement and means that 20% of all ABP’s energy consumption will soon be carbon free.

The French port of Le Havre has a wind and tidal power feasibility report in progress, while the Port of Long Beach, California is testing solar panels to produce its own electricity and is currently studying ways of using other alternative energy sources. On the US eastern seaboard, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) hopes to conclude a study on the potential of renewable energy for port operations and structures next year.

Ports in Europe and the US are also looking at installing novel road plates that can generate power each time a heavy goods vehicle drives over them. A prototype system called Dragon Power Station is under trial at the Port of Oakland and in the UK, Southampton Container Terminal has been approached by the UK inventor of a system designated the Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp, which has potential to generate up to 50kW of power each time a vehicle drives over its metal plates. Best suited where there is high traffic throughput, a vehicle’s weight exerts pressure on the special plates to drive an internal generator capable of producing kinetic energy. This can then be used to generate electricity which is fed back into the network to feed the port’s energy consumers.

There are some major stumbling blocks that need to be hurdled before ports can get the green light to generate their own electricity, however. In the UK at least, electricity regulator requirements and legalities can be burdensome, delaying projects considerably. The planning window for a wind farm for instance is currently 26 months with another 18 months on top of that for build and installation. Another issue is that wind power has a low utilisation rate and you need at least four wind turbines to meet demand.

One major terminal operator though suggests that wind, solar and tidal power generation technology is still uneconomically viable for powering port operations, although he tells Port Strategy that given the surging fuel price there may come a tipping point when one or a combination of alternative energy sources become viable. Even then, application will be location specific as not every port will have the requisite wind, tidal range or sun intensity.

Yet still, these initiatives aimed essentially at reducing a port’s carbon footprint and the amount of power it takes from the grid not only afford greater control over the costs of energy production and transmission, but energy independence can open up a completely new revenue stream as ports can sell excess power back to the grid and subsidised power to their tenants. Ports are also in prime place to take biofuels “coming in over the wall” as cargoes to power these plants, especially CHP.

But wherever ports source their energy in future, whether it’s “home-grown”, from the grid or a bit of both, and irrespective of what the energy mix actually is, energy consumption reduction can only be achieved by adapting equipment and vehicles to run with high efficiency motors, variable drive systems, energy capture devices and other technologies which ostensibly extend the electrification of port operations.

While the benefits of high efficiency motors and variable drives have been covered extensively in Port Strategy, energy capture is a relatively new concept beginning to garner favour in the port of Hong Kong, according to BMT Asia, which has been involved in a prototype installation of the technology at a Hong Kong Container Terminal.

The energy capture device is fitted to a rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) crane to store the energy in a high-speed flywheel or a series of capacitors that store energy as the boxes are lowered to the ground. The energy stored then provides immediate power for when the RTG picks up the next box. Installing super capacitors in RTG cranes would result in a 25% energy saving, says BMT Asia.

Rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) connected to the grid are also being considered as they use up to 20% less energy than conventional RTGs. BMT Asia says any capital expenditure involved in converting an RTG to RMG would be recouped from the associated reduction in fuel costs after two years of use.

Additionally, the installation of auxiliary generators on RTGs, used to power the cabin when the crane is not fully operating, can save an estimated 180,000litres of fuel per year, while developing cleaner tractors using hybrid technology or a liquefied natural gas model would provide further costs savings.

The OOCL-operated Kaohsiung Terminal in Taiwan has replaced its straddle carriers with RMGs and in Korea, the Busan Port Authority (BPA) is making the switch and will convert the majority of its RTGs at its North Port to run on electricity. Its Shinsundae Terminal has also changed 21 RTGs to electric power and is investing Won3bn ($2.9m) in the construction of relevant power facilities.

Although the Won300m ($290,000) it costs to change each crane is a substantial outlay, BPA expects to recover the costs in just over a year with energy reductions of up to Won190m ($183,000) a year for each crane. Energy management analysis carried out by the Authority found that the annual fuel cost of each diesel-powered crane was Won220m ($211,990) against the Won24m ($231,300) it costs to run an electric driven unit. Further savings are expected in maintenance costs as the failure rate drops by 50%.

For those terminals where the electrification of operations is inappropriate, fuel bills can still be slashed by embracing the Ecodrive initiative. This provides training on the optimum way in which to drive and operate cargo handling vehicles. According to one European port operator, educating its drivers to operate their vehicles more efficiently has reduced greenhouse gas emissions, noise levels and accident rates, and diesel consumption by 20%.

Elsewhere, state-of-the art energy efficient products such as high-flux LED lighting and geothermal- or solar thermal-based heating/cooling systems can shave thousands off the cost of running buildings and other office structures within the port complex, as can training staff to simply conserve energy by switching of computer terminals and other equipment in stand-by mode.

However, what is apparent from discussions with the port authorities contacted in the progression of this article is the importance of a comprehensive energy/utility management assessment. This is imperative. You can not manage energy unless you know how you use that energy and if port authorities and operators are to become more energy and environmentally efficient without impediment to productivity, then they have to more fully understand what solutions are appropriate for each operation. Without such analysis productivity will be hampered by inevitable cut backs in energy consumption as crude oil edges close to $200 a barrel.