Electricity makes its own demands
With the trend towards higher-density stacking, Halcrow is reporting increasing interest in automated terminals with rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes.
However, he warns, in the pursuit of greater yard densities and optimisation of yard handling technologies, a key issue in considering RMG or electrical RTG operations is the availability and distribution of electrical power in the port.
"It will be more and more important for ports to consider the electricity supply and distribution in their master plans with the consideration of automation. Large numbers of both quay cranes and yard RMGs will put considerable demands on the system, which will probably not have been allowed for in previous designs.
"Traditionally you will have just topped up your machines with diesel. But the worst case [in electrically powered systems] is that they all want to lift at the same time. I think we are going to see electrical engineers stepping up on the podium a little bit more. Until now, the challenges have been for the planners - how many boxes you can stack, the equipment's load capacity, how quickly you can handle things, etc, and the electricians have really concentrated on reefer applications and quay cranes."
Mr Johanson-Brown says it will become extremely important to address the issue of electrical masterplans - which may demonstrate the need for on-site power generation for both certainty and availability of supply. "We are already working on one or two projects which involve dedicated power plants at the port," he says.
