“Seven to nine percent of a ship’s CO₂ emissions are emitted when it is at the wharf,” said Faig Abbasov, a shipping expert at the environmental group Transport & Environment. Because when a cruise ship enters a port, it has to run its diesel engines. Energy is needed on a ship, for example for lighting or to run the cooling vessels on board.
Europe is now requiring all major ports to allow moored vessels (cargo, passenger and cruise ships) to purchase green energy from shore by 2030. By 2030, the option must be given for these ships to plug cables into a large ship on the quay, so they can shut down their diesel generators. This should significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in the ports. Noise and odor concerns should also be greatly reduced as a result of this so-called coastal power.
European currency for Flanders
Until now, ships in the port of Antwerp still did not have the option of receiving electricity from the shore. Inland ships, which are smaller, have that option.
There is now a small improvement for sea vessels. For the first time, Flanders has received 13 million euros from Europe to help finance five shore-based power projects for ships in our ports. Of this, 8 million euros will go to two projects in the port of Antwerp. The other three projects are located in Zeebrugge and Ghent. The money comes from the European fund RePowerEU, which supports the transition to more green energy.
In the port of Antwerp, this concerns a coastal power project by the companies Techelec and Yuso at the Antwerp Euroterminal (AET), which is located in the port of Waasland and where ships full of cars arrive. Techelec wants to install two charging points for marine vessels by the end of 2026. This means that two vessels can draw electricity from the shore at the same time.
“The PSA installation at Terminal Europa will have the capacity to connect up to a hundred ships per year to shore power”
Kim Vandenbroucke
PSA spokesperson
The other project is managed by the PSA company, which is currently busy renovating Terminal Europa on the right bank in the port of Antwerp. PSA wants to install a shore power installation at the new plant by the end of 2026. “It will have the capacity to connect up to a hundred ships per year to the shore power,” says Kim Vandenbroucke, spokesperson for PSA. Surprisingly: The PSA is currently not one hundred percent sure that it will use the European subsidy. “It’s tied to a timeline,” says Vandenbroucke. “We have to make the expenditure related to that subsidy within six months of the award. We are now going to see if that timeline is feasible. “
Kim Vandenbroucke, spokeswoman for PSA. – ©rr
Big difference with Holland and Germany
But even if PSA meets that deadline, Antwerp and Flanders are still far behind the Netherlands and Germany. The Port of Hamburg in Germany will open ten connections for shore power for container ships and four connections for cruise ships in 2025. And the Dutch government will provide 180 million euros in the coming years to install basic infrastructure for shore-based power.
“150 million euros are easily needed to develop basic infrastructure for shore power in the port of Antwerp. We especially ask the next Flemish government to release the money for this.”
Stephan Vanfraechem
Director of Alfaport Voka
Stephan Vanfraechem, director of Alfaport Voka. – © Joris Herregods
“So the 13 million euros that are now coming from Europe to Flanders is a symbolic amount,” says Stephan Vanfraechem, director of Alfaport Voka, the association of port employers. “150 million euros are easily needed to develop basic infrastructure for shore power in the port of Antwerp. This relates to the necessary sockets and the provision of cables that have sufficient capacity to carry a large amount of power. Flanders lags behind neighboring countries in this respect. We especially ask the next Flemish government to release the money for that basic infrastructure. “
Flemish Economy Minister Jo Brouns (CD&V) points out that companies that want to invest in energy based on shores can now use the so-called Ecology Premium +. But this subsidy is limited to three percent of the total investment amount.
This is how an electric cabinet with shore power for inland vessels in the port of Antwerp. The first connections to shore power for ships would not be available in the port of Antwerp until 2026. – © RR
2024-05-11 01:00:00
#million #euros #coastal #power #lock #port #Antwerp #needed
