Prince Rupert Port to install shore power facilities as part of net zero drive

Canada’s Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) has announced its plans to install shore power capacity to help reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions from ships.

As informed, vessels docked at Fairview Terminal will have the opportunity to use hydroelectric power while their cargo is loaded and unloaded.

By connecting ships at berth to a shoreside power facility, carbon emissions can be cut substantially, and emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide can be reduced to a minimum, according to the port’s authority.

“Container vessels at berth will be able to shut down their main engines when plugged into shore power, eliminating the majority of the greenhouse gases and other air emissions from those ships,” said Jason Scherr, PRPA’s Manager of Environmental Sustainability.

Earlier this year, staff from PRPA, BC Hydro, and DP World Prince Rupert worked with electrical contractors and the engineers aboard the ship CSCL Summer to test the equipment at the terminal.

Scherr said “work continues, and we expect to commission both berths and have the equipment operational when the next phase of the Fairview Terminal expansion is completed in 2022.”

Earlier on, the port set itself the ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, as part of PRPA’s Carbon Reduction Strategy.

“The emissions savings from shore power at Fairview Terminal will help PRPA account for half of this aggressive reduction target,” Scherr concluded.

Shore power is taking off as the governments around the world are helping their ports deploy shore power, with grants for investment and reductions in electricity taxes.

One of the latest research projects, undertaken by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester, showed that there is a strong consensus that electrification represents a key part of the decarbonisation solution for maritime and that its use should grow.