Shore power for ships at berth in UK ports should be funded entirely by government or a combination of government and industry, a survey of UK parliament members revealed.
Specifically, over than 100 UK members of parliament (MPs) were surveyed by phone in September and October, saying that there is a need for tentative consensus for a joint model of funding for shore power in ports.
According to the survey, 55% of those with a view said that the government has a role in supporting shore power, either funding it entirely or through co-investment with industry.
At the same time, 11% said it should not be funded at all if it is not commercially viable.
10% of MPs said that shore power should not be funded at all if not commercially viable. Over a fifth back the costs being picked up solely by port operators, despite this going against the UK’s “polluter pays” principle, soon to be enshrined in law by the Environment Bill.
As the COP26 climate change conference focuses on transport today, the British Ports Association (BPA) issued updated findings from research into shore power provision around the world. In fact, the BPA examined 92 shore power projects over 1MVA undertaken in the last 20 years, using a variety of public and private sources and again found no known instance of shore power projects installed without public funding support.
Why should the British taxpayer subsidise big business in this way?