THE Port Authority of New South Wales has made the decision to commission a new report into the viability of shore power at the White Bay Cruise Terminal in Sydney. The move to investigate the cleaner power alternative follows a raft of ports around the world adopting shore power, as...
THE Port Authority of New South Wales has made the decision to commission a new report into the viability of shore power at the White Bay Cruise Terminal in Sydney.
The move to investigate the cleaner power alternative follows a raft of ports around the world adopting shore power, as well as an increasing number of ships now able to connect to the power source.
“The Port Authority of NSW is committed to considering the full suite of options that could be implemented to address the community’s concerns with air and noise impacts from cruise ships at White Bay,” a spokesperson for the organisation said.
“Details regarding the cruise ships that can utilise shore power will be included in the supplementary report”.
This is not the first time White Bay has been assessed for the viability of shore power, with the Port Authority commissioning a feasibility study back in 2017, with the conclusions of that report recommending at the time that shore power was not a “cost-effective strategy” for the Sydney-based cruise port (CW 18 Jul 2017).
When contacted for comment regarding the move to commission a second study, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Australasia said it supported the availability of a clean supply of power close to a port to achieve important emissions reductions.
“Connecting to shore power, or a port’s electrical grid, while at berth can be a possible alternative to using fuel while in port, provided that the source of the shore power is clean and close to the port,” a spokesperson told CW.
“While the use of shore power remains an alternative worthy of serious consideration, the limited availability of shore power infrastructure at most ports worldwide remains an important issue.”
