Study explores plugging ships into the power of the sun, writes John Snyder for Riviera.
Use of solar-powered cold ironing
A feasibility study conducted by the ABL Group assesses the use of solar-powered cold ironing or shore power for ships calling at the port of Mombasa to reduce emissions
bility study has explored the installation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant that would provide renewable energy for shore power at the Port of Mombasa, Kenya.
The study was conducted by Oslo-listed energy and marine consultancy ABL Group, and commissioned following the introduction of the Green Ports Policy by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). The policy would require ships calling at the port to turn off their onboard diesel generators and plug into shore power.
Shore power produced by renewable sources substantially reduces diesel emissions from ships in coastal areas, lowering CO2 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in port and improving local air quality.
A gateway to East Africa, the port of Mombasa handles a variety of liquid, dry bulk and containerised cargo, with vessel calls from container ships, tankers, bulk carriers and general cargo ships. An expansion completed last year increased the annual capacity at the port to 2.1M TEU, keeping it among the top five ports in Africa.
“A study conducted in 2021 indicated that 25% of vessels’ emissions are generated while stationary at port,” said ABL Group energy storage lead Aimee Besant.
“Utilising electrical power from shore brings significant reductions in emissions. However, this study went one step further in exploring the opportunity to generate the electricity from 100% clean local solar PV resources, creating an entirely green contribution to the shore power system,” added Ms Besant.
Solar plant
As part of the study, ABL’s renewable energy experts conducted a feasibility study for KPA to assess the suitability of installing a 5-10 MW solar plant, energy from which can be harnessed to install a green energy shore power system. The study examined cost and evaluated the typical vessel consumption demand and wider energy demand of the port and berth.
The results of the study assessed two possible brownfield sites deemed viable options for solar PV plant development, including conceptual designs that maximised the PV output from the sites. The design results were compared with the vessel and port consumption demand and the local cost of heavy fuel oils to determine that, on a kWh basis, a combination of PV-generated and grid-supplied shore power could be cost effective compared with traditional onboard generators.
“The study found a significant reduction in the local burning of heavy fuel oils can be secured from the use of cold ironing, resulting in an improvement to local air quality,” said Ms Besant. “As cold ironing is being increasingly considered in different countries, this project reflects the scale of the opportunity for other ports around the world to explore the installation of shore power generated from their local green energy resource, as well as the additional potential when combined with energy storage solutions such as lithium batteries or hydrogen,” she added.
Although this study was designed to assess the feasibility of solar PV-generated cold ironing, it has been expanded to explore the feasibility of additional renewable power sources or energy storage.
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Source: Riviera
