Clean Ports Program set to ‘amp up’ shore power in US

Called Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) at the Port of Los Angeles, high-voltage shore power is now used extensively by container ships at the port. Under CARB rules, container ships, cruise ships and reefer vessels calling at the port must use shore power or equivalent CARB-approved emission control technology for a certain percentage of their fleet calls; 15 container lines made 788 ‘AMP’ed calls’ and another 48 ‘AMP’ed equivalent calls’ in 2023. This equates to 95% of the calls made by the container ships at the port. CARB shore-power rules will be expanded to include car carriers and tankers starting 2025.

“The EPA views shore power as one of the most effective technologies at reducing ship pollutants while a ship is in port”

With a goal of reaching net-zero carbon by 2045, California is aggressively investing in zero-emissions technology at its ports. Under California’s US$1.18Bn Port and Freight Infrastructure Program, the existing shore-power system at the Tesoro Logistics terminal at the Port of Long Beach will upgraded to accommodate more tankers, and new shore-power systems will be installed at the Tesoro LBT and T2 terminals.

The ports of Oakland and San Diego are upgrading their shore-power system capabilities, too. The Port of San Diego, which commissioned its first system at its cruise terminals in 2010, has invested about US$24.7M in shore power to date. Last year, its board of commissioners signed a US$676,273 equipment purchase and consulting service agreement with Watts Marine for its third shore-power connection.

Shore power for PortMiami 

Starting this year, five major cruise lines will be able to plug in their cruise ships at PortMiami following commissioning of new facilities starting this spring. Shore power will be available at MSC’s new mega-cruise terminal, the largest of its type in the world, when it opens this fall.

An agreement signed in February 2021 between PortMiami, cruise companies Carnival Corp, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Group, and Virgin Voyages, and local utility Florida Power and Light Co (FPL) made it possible.

The deal, worked out under a memorandum of understanding in February 2021, addresses some of the most significant barriers to shore power, namely the cost of outfitting of ships, which was covered by the cruise lines, which will also pay to use the electricity, and a commitment by FPL to make the capital investment needed to build the infrastructure to bring electricity to the facility. FPL expects to generate US$25M in revenues from shore power over four years. State and federal grants totalling almost US$22M were received by PortMiami to support its shore-power project.

In 2023, the Port of Galveston received a US$1M grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for a shore-power pilot project that will use “an onshore electricity microgrid to provide a clean portable power source” to one docked ship.

The port will team with Texas A&M University to evaluate the microgrid’s feasibility, environmental impacts and operational data including energy consumption and power production efficiency. The pilot is expected to be implemented in 2024 and completed in 2025.

Key barriers to shore power

Among the chief barriers to shore power at US ports, according to US EPA, are:

1.                   Significant investments in landside infrastructure and vessel modifications.

2.                   Lack of appropriate infrastructure at ports to connect ships with shore power.

3.                   Upgraded connections to the electrical grid are often required.

4.                   Ships must be retrofitted with costly shore-power connection systems.

5.                   Electricity for shore power must be less expensive than shipboard fuel sources.

Source: US EPA/Shore Power Assessment at U.S. Ports, 2022