The Port of Gothenburg has been awarded one of the prestigious Energy Globe Awards 2011 for its work on shoreside power connection for ships. According to the Port, around one third of all vessels calling at Gothenburg now connect to shore side power, also known as ‘cold ironing’ and Alternative Maritime Power (AMP). The award and prize money of EUR 10,000 was presented at a ceremony in Austria on Friday, November 25.

Established in 1999, the Energy Globe World Awards seek to promote the use of clean, renewable energy sources. Awards are given in five categories: Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Youth. Winners are selected by a panel of experts drawn from the UN, the World Bank and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC).

Ships need power while berthed to run on-board services ranging from lighting, telecommunications and food preparation, to mooring and cargo handling. AMP enables vessels to switch off their engines while in port and connect to electrical power supply. This reduces diesel emissions in ports thus improving air quality in and around ports. Electrical power at the Port of Gothenburg is provided by wind turbines thus reducing the Port’s environmental footprint to a minimum.

Working with partners in the industry, Cavotec has developed shore power technologies at ports across Northern Europe and in Canada and the US, such as the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach.

Susann Dutt, Sustainability Manager at the Port of Gothenburg, attributed the Port’s success with shore power to close cooperation with customers.

She added: “Hopefully, the attention this [] will contribute to more ports and shipping companies investing in shoreside power supply.”

The Port of Gothenburg has released a video showing Dutt receiving the award of behalf of the Port. The second part of this film includes footage of the newest cable system at the Port that supplies Stena Line ferries with electrical power – a cable system developed by Cavotec, global engineering group ABB and other local partners.

You can read a statement on the award released by the Port of Gothenburg here.

The Port of Los Angeles has led the development of a Carbon Calculator for ports to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and explore reduction strategies.

The free tool (available in both English Unit and Metric Unit versions), designed in collaboration with experts from a handful of other ports worldwide, forms part of the World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI) designed to identify and promote “effective, sustainable practices and strategies for ports and harbours to improve air quality”. The WPCI Carbon Footprinting Guidance report can be found here.

Port of Los Angeles technicians expect the initiative will be used a planning tool that ports worldwide can use to compute the benefits of replacing or retrofitting equipment with systems or machines that run on sustainable power.

“The Carbon Calculator is a powerful tool to help each port chart its own course toward reducing greenhouse gases,” explains Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D. “A consistent methodology among ports will help us assess our global impact.”

In related news, the Port of Long Beach has announced a new installation at its Pier C, which uses Cavotec’s Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) solution to provide electricity to docking ships, allowing them to shut down secondary diesel engines and thus reducing harmful emissions. This is the fourth unit to be put in place at the port in an effort to comply with state regulations that require 50 per cent of containership visiting Californian ports to use shore power by 2014.

“Together with our industry partners we have shown the world that it is possible to move more cargo and reduce emissions at the same time,” declared Susan E Anderson Wise, President of the Long Beach Board of Harbour Commissioners.

Both ports operate using a number of Cavotec innovations including Shore Power Outlet Boxes (Medium Voltage Connectors and Fiber Optic Junction boxes), Panzerbelt cable protection system, AMP Mobile (including Cavotec remote control unit), AMP Vault Easy Lift Cover Assemblies, Cable Reels (installed on Ship To Shore cranes), One-Hand Lift Fire Hydrant Covers and Compressed Air Pit Assemblies.

Sustainability initiatives undertaken by the Port of Los Angeles to operate more sustainably and create employment in and around the port are highlighted in a short film. The film includes an interview with Cavotec CEO, Ottonel Popesco, who describes how Cavotec and the port have worked together to introduce shore-to-ship electricity supply, Alternative Maritime Power, at the port.