Decarbonisation tool

National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) has partnered with Siemens to create a decarbonisation tool that will help ports forecast the future infrastructure required to meet potential increased demand for electricity from zero emission port operations.

Dr Russell Fowler, senior project manager for decarbonisation of transport at National Grid, said: “We are very keen to encourage ports to interact with us. The tool has been developed in the best interests of the port operators to help us plan together a decarbonised future. Through early collaboration we can identify the infrastructure required and ensure a smooth transition to a cleaner world.”

Determining future peak demand

The decarbonisation tool, developed with support and guidance from the British Ports Association (BPA) will model future peak demand for electricity and give an estimate of the connections required, both to the local distribution network and the national transmission system.

It does this by asking questions about the assets a port has on site – from the number of berths, and types of cranes, to the number of car parking spaces – matching it with estimates of the peak power demand for the site.

The tool is offered in two versions. One version makes assessments based on the asset information input; the other version is customisable, allowing the port to change the assumptions if appropriate. The idea is to make the tool simple to use, and to give ports preliminary guidance to allow for a more detailed insight to meet their requirements.

Once ports have downloaded and worked through the decarbonisation tool, they can contact National Grid with the preliminary findings, for a more in-depth conversation if required.

Mark Simmonds, director of policy & external affairs at the BPA, commented: “Ports recognise the scale of the challenge in reducing emissions from their operations and from ships. Increasing electrification will play a major role in that. This tool will help ports and terminals to better understand their network infrastructure and the complexities involved in power supply. We hope it will lead to more informed discussions about their potential future electricity demands.”