By
Laura Hyde |
Portsmouth International Port has secured a £19.8 million ($24.7 million) grant to design, build and operate a shore power system across its three busiest berths.
The grant comes from the Zero Emissions Vessels and Infrastructure competition, funded by the UK government and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. The project will allow ships to switch off their engines when in port and plug in to green electricity to run their onboard systems, reducing carbon emissions.
It is estimated the shore power project, named Sea Change, will save over 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum from 2027 – the equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of around 2,500 UK households.
“Once delivered, this revolutionary multi-user, multi-berth shore power facility will be a UK first,” said Stephen Watkyns, technical director at Portsmouth Port. “It means we’ll be able to provide shore power for ships on three of our berths. I’d like to thank the team at the port and our partners in the Sea Change consortium for all their hard work getting this bid approved. This project is another huge step forward for our ambitions to reach net carbon neutral by 2030 and eliminate emissions by 2050.”
The project will also enable the UK port to “realise the full potential” of two of Brittany Ferries’ shore-power ready, LNG-electric hybrid ships, which are scheduled to begin sailing from Portsmouth International Port in spring 2025.
“This is fantastic news as it fully unlocks the potential of our two new hybrid vessels,” said Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries. “Shoreside power in Portsmouth means we can be good neighbours to those who live and work around the city as soon as these vessels arrive in 2025. We are delighted that our forward-thinking partners have pushed so hard to make this happen and are proud to contribute to wider emission reduction goals.”
Portsmouth city hopes to reach net carbon neutral status by 2030. “Improving air quality is one of the most pressing issues facing Portsmouth today,” said Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, cabinet member with responsibility for the port at Portsmouth City Council. “Across the council we’re undertaking a huge range of projects to combat harmful emissions, which includes already approving a massive upgrade of the electricity supply to the port so this project can happen. It’ll also bring new high-skilled jobs and investment to the city, so I’m delighted we can now deliver this for the people of Portsmouth.”