Methodology for Assessing Power Needs for Onshore Power Supply in Maritime Ports

Abstract

Maritime ports represent an important ecosystem for pollutant emissions and, considering the ongoing energy transition, need to adopt new solutions to mitigate current emission levels. These emissions are partially avoidable if ships and vessels docked at the port use electric energy to feed their power needs instead of using their internal combustion engines. In Europe, there is an ongoing discussion on including such emissions in the European Union Emissions Trading System, which will represent added costs for maritime operators. Onshore power supply systems can contribute to the ongoing energy transition by allowing the use of electric power to feed docked ships. As a first step to contribute to the development of onshore power supply solutions, it is necessary to evaluate the added power needs that these systems would represent for the port. This paper presents a methodology that allows port operators to verify, straightforwardly and transparently, their power needs for onshore power supply applications. The methodology is based on the historical data of docked ships at the port or quay level and provides an energy analysis of each type of vessel to determine the power to be installed at the port so that it is possible to supply energy to different types of ships and vessels simultaneously. Additionally, the implemented methodology provides economic and technical decision support factors by comparing the fuel costs with electric power costs, assessing the potential for this transition to onshore power supply. The methodology is validated using a real case study for the Port of Lisbon, and obtained results demonstrate the potential for the installation of an onshore power supply in medium- to large-dimension maritime ports.