Electrical upgrade at Felixstowe

UK Power Networks Services has won a contract to supply new electrical technology at the Port of Felixstowe to allow the port to move away from a reliance on red diesel, reducing emissions and improving air quality.

This is the energy infrastructure company’s first major project in the ports industry. “We are excited to be working with the Port of Felixstowe as part of its journey to further decarbonise the port through electrification of its operations,” said Steven Muscat, head of engineering at UK Power Networks Services.

Forty per cent of the country’s container traffic passes through the Port of Felixstowe. The three-year project includes upgrading the existing 11,000-volt electricity network to supply the seventeen new electric gantry cranes to help load and unload some of the four million containers they lift each year.

The electrification upgrade will also allow 48 new electric tractor units to replace some of the existing diesel vehicles used around the port.