ESPO PLOTS OPS USE

The document comprises five main pages wherein 10 key factors relating to OPS are discussed as set out in Table 1.

Table 1: Onshore Power Supply: The Ten Key Factors Highlighted by ESPO

1 Europe’s ports want to be a part of a green future for Europe
2 OPS is an important tool to reduce shipping emissions in ports: European ports fully support more OPS where it makes sense
3 Public funding is a prerequisite for the further deployment of OPS
4 Criteria to define where OPS make most sense in European ports
5 Assessment of shipping segments
6 Port-specific considerations to consider alongside the general criteria
7 OPS investment decisions in ports should be based on a proper cost benefit analysis
8 OPS must be subject to a permanent tax exemption
9 Balanced commitments between vessels and ports are a precondition
10 Facilitating OPS deployment through market information and transparency

Source: ESPO

Under Point 2, as featured in Table 1, ESPO notes: “The revised Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID) should… provide a legislative framework leading to the best available and cost-effective technology to reduce emissions at berth, including the development of OPS where viable.” Plus: “To ensure greater deployment of OPS, it should be possible to provide OPS through either mobile fixed or floating installations.”

Point 3, relating to public funding is an important area of coverage. ESPO underlines the fact that: “The cost for developing OPS in ports varies from port to port, and from location to location in the port, but overall the cost is high with almost no return on investment for the investing party.” It further confirms that: “So far there are no cases known where OPS has been deployed on a commercial basis.”

Against this background, ESPO goes on to point out that every OPS facility installed to-date has been supported by up to 50 per cent of public funding and that an ambitious OPS development must be accompanied by substantial amounts of public funding to enable wider deployment. Furthermore, that as well as the existing funding mechanisms such as the Connecting Europe Facility and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, “dedicated funds for OPS investments in ports should be provided in future funding mechanisms such as a maritime fund under the EU ETS.”

WHERE OPS MAKES MOST SENSE

On the fourth point in the table, “Where OPS makes most sense…” ESPO reports that it has identified a number of cumulative criteria which are important in the evaluation of where and when OPS is most appropriate in European ports. These criteria include:

• Ship type and the OPS readiness of vessels
• Vessel minimum time at berth (and here it notes the influence of the OPS connect and disconnect times which can vary a lot between different vessel types, e.g. one to two hours for a container vessel)
• Frequent and repeat calls by the same vessels
• Minimum occupancy rate of the berth
• New berths

As might be expected, where frequent calls are made OPS is seen as more viable and similarly on the issue of berth occupancy it notes “a berth should be regularly used over an extended time.” Returning to a financial theme in points seven and eight, ESPO emphasises in the former respect that OPS investment decisions should be based on a proper cost-benefit analysis. Among other advantages, it states that this will avoid the misallocation of limited resources.

And echoing a theme raised recently in the UK, under its Point eight, ESPO notes that: “The wellknown legislative barriers to the use of OPS also need to be addressed and incentives for their deployment should be introduced.” Further that, “A level playing field must be established with other fuels, including a permanent tax exemption for OPS under the Energy Taxation Directive, which would improve the cost-effectiveness of OPS.”

The basis of the framework document is that there is clear scope for the wider application of OPS as a means of co2 emission reduction and improving air quality in ports. To make this happen as effectively as possible, however, funding issues needs to be addressed and a range of technical criteria spanning vessel types and port considerations in a general and local context.

Towards an Intelligent Framework for Onshore Power Supply, the full document, is available from ESPO: https://www.espo.be