Shore side power seminar

By 2025 it will be mandatory for all European ports to implement short side power and Schneider Electric wants to be sure that ships circumnavigating European waters will be ready to plug in and reap the benefits before the deadline.

But the reality at the moment is that the majority of modern ports are not equipped to provide shore power connections and likewise most ships do not have the facility to get plugged into the electricity network at a port.

In recent years significant steps have been taken to develop the global adoption of the technology through the IEC/ISO/IEEE 80005-1 standard which sets down standardised requirements for shore connection systems in ports.

But regulatory compliance aside, shore side power can demonstrate considerable savings. A cruise liner can save £319K per year using shore connection when compared with running onboard generators at berth.

The trouble is that there is still a barrier to be overcome in terms of who should invest in the technology first – ships or ports.

This is despite the fact that European ports and vessel operators trading between European ports can obtain significant funding through the European Commission’s TEN-T transport infrastructure policy.

The seminar, ‘FOCUS Seminar: Shore power for the ship operator’, hosted by Schneider Electric and Fathom Shipping, will take place at the UK Chamber of Shipping on London on 25 November 2014.