ABB to promote ‘cold ironing’ in UK
ABB’s shore to ship (STS) electrical connection technology
ABB Marine and Cranes is promoting the environmental and commercial benefits of shore-to-ship high voltage electrical connection technology in the UK.
The technology, known as 'cold ironing' or 'alternative marine power', allows a ship to shut down its diesel engines when in port thereby cutting all airborne emissions (CO2 plus other emissions such as NOx, SOx and particulates). In addition to the significant benefit to the environment, a reduction in noise pollution and vibration is also realised.
According to ABB, there has been a common concern in the industry around the matter of global standards, recently addressed by the publication of the IEC 'publicly available standard' (IEC/ISO/IEEE 60092-510), which aims to ensure global compatibility for connections, communication and protection.
Stuart Melling, account manager for ABB Marine and Crane business unit, said: "This development removes some of the uncertainty a port and vessel operator would have around investing in this technology. Now that a global standard has been published, the prospect of using this solution to achieve port and vessel environmental targets (such as energy efficiency and carbon dioxide reduction) is much more compelling."
As the use of low sulphur diesel in port drives up operating costs, cold ironing could be a very attractive proposition as an additional revenue stream for ports as well as in helping to achieve environmental improvements.
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