Shore Power Coming to Port of San Diego

Thursday, 10 June 2010

The Port of San Diego has begun work on one of its major Green Port projects on the tidelands -- the installation of shore power at its B Street Cruise Ship Terminal and Broadway Pier.

Shore power, an electric system – known as cold ironing - is the process of switching from a ship's onboard diesel power supply to shore-based electrical power, while at dock. This process greatly reduces air emissions from the ships since electricity from the grid is much cleaner than generating energy from diesel engines.

"The use of shore power significantly reduces emissions associated with ships at berth," said Michelle White of the Port of San Diego's Environmental Services Department. "When a cruise ship calls, it idles the entire time its here, running its diesel engines. What shore power will do is allow cruise ships, while they're at dock, to plug into electrical power. It is estimated shore power will reduce more than 1 ton of pollutants from each ship that plugs into the system in a 9-hour period."

The Port of San Diego's system will make electrical power available to three cruise ship berths: two berths will be located at the B Street Pier Cruise Ship Terminal; a third shore power berth will be located at Broadway Pier.

"The shore power system will supply up to 12,500 volts of power to a ship carrying up to 5,000 passengers," said Mark McIntire of the Port of San Diego's Engineering and Construction Department. "The transition from the ship's onboard generation capacity to the shore power electrical capacity will be seamless."

Initially, shore power will be available to one ship at a time. In subsequent years, two ships will be able to use shore power at the same time.

The largest piece of equipment at the construction site is the transformer, weighing in at 85,000 pounds. It was delivered to the B Street Pier on May 17, 2010.

Underground utilities that provide power for the new shore power service are being provided by San Diego Gas and Electric. The public works infrastructure includes installing major electrical gear, a concrete support pad, vaults, fencing, cables and a conduit. These services are being provided via NEWest Construction Company Inc., based in San Diego.

Cranes will also be installed. They will be used to feed electrical cables (weighing 3,500 pounds) and receptacles from the pier to the ships at all three sites.

The shore power project is due to be completed by December 2010, with the first cruise ship using shore power in January 2011.

The project's budget is just over $7 million. In August 2008, the Port was awarded a $2.4 million Carl Moyer Program Grant for this project from the San Diego Air Pollution Control District.

Starting in January 2014, cruise ships will be required by state law to reduce their air emissions. One of the reasons the Port received the Carl Moyer grant is that ships in San Diego will be reducing their air emissions three years before they are required to, by law, White said.

This project will be the first shore power project completed under the Carl Moyer Program in the State of California.

Providing shore power for ships supports the Port's Green Port Program, which unifies the Port's environmental sustainability goals in six key areas: water, energy, air, waste management, sustainable development, and sustainable business practices.

As part of the Green Port Program, the Port establishes long-term goals and evaluates progress in each area annually. The Green Port Program will continue the Port's existing environmental efforts and expand these efforts through new programs and initiatives.