With a joint support of €18,8 million from the EU fund Connecting Europe Facility for the project EU.OPS.Network, the ports of Aarhus, Gothenburg, Bremerhaven, and Stockholm will provide onshore power to container ships calling at the ports by 2030.
A major step toward sustainable shipping
The project is a direct response to new EU regulations that will come into effect in 2030, requiring ships over 5,000 gross tonnage to connect to onshore power supply, OPS, while moored. Through OPS, container ships will be able to use electricity from the grid instead of generating their own power onboard using diesel engines. This results in a reduced climate footprint, cleaner local environments, and improved working conditions in the ports.
As some of Northern Europe’s most important ports, it’s fantastic that we can collaborate to reduce the shipping industry’s climate footprint, which is a global challenge we face together. OPS for container ships is a crucial part for all the ports involved,
… said Anne Zachariassen, COO of Port of Aarhus and project coordinator.
Shore power benefits
During the 2023 GREEN4SEA Athens Forum, Theodosia Digalaki, Technical Product Manager, ERMA FIRST, shared her perspective on reducing carbon footprint with shore power. According to Digalaki, the following are some of the benefits of shore power:
- Reduction of air pollutants.
- Shore power can have a positive ROI depending on local electricity rates.
- When shore power is combined with renewable energy sources (such as solar or wind), the carbon footprint could be eliminated.
- Vibration and noise on board are eliminated, improving seafarers’ living conditions.
- Not using auxiliary engines at berth results in a longer life cycle and lower maintenance costs.
Ports of Stockholm’s investment in Stockholm Norvik
Ports of Stockholm’s part in the project involves connecting container ships to green electricity at Stockholm Norvik Port from 2027. The port, which was inaugurated in 2020, was already prepared for this purpose at the time of construction which means that the infrastructure to some extent already is in place. The electricity connection established in the project will be available to all shipping companies on equal terms and will consist of a mobile container dispenser covering two berths.
Together with the other ports in the project, we are investing in a rapid and safe expansion of onshore power for container ships to further strengthen our modern cargo port Stockholm Norvik Port as a hub for sustainable transport.
… commented Johan Wallén, Marketing and Sales Manager at Ports of Stockholm.
