Tests begin on the on-shore power connection system for ferries in the port of Palma
This installation will reduce gas and noise emissions in the port
Palma
14/12/2021
Yesterday, the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) carried out tests on a medium and low voltage electrical infrastructure in the port of Palma for the electrical connection of ships to land. The Balearia ferry Eleanor Roosevelt was respoinsible for collaborating in the technical tests prior to commissioning.
This installation will enable ferries that dock at the Paraires quay to use the on-shore power grid while they are moored at the port in order to reduce the emission of gases and noise generated by them during waiting, disembarkation and embarkation operations. This technique is known ascold ironing.
The installation will be prepared to connect to the electricity grid, although not simultaneously, a ferry-type vessel with a maximum power demand of 1,600 kW (medium voltage) and another fast ferry-type vessel with 800 kW (low voltage). For the electrical connection to land, the system has 275 metres of medium voltage underground lines, a transformation centre and a frequency elevating substation in the service area of the port of Palma.
Reducing emissions
When in port, ships use their auxiliary engines to produce electricity during loading, unloading and mooring operations. Although the amount of emissions produced during the berthing phase is less than during the maritime traffic phase itself, in this case the pollutants emitted directly affect the air quality of the population centres near the port, as well as the port itself.
The use of electrical energy from the national grid means a reduction in the emissions produced by the ship, given that the emission factor per MWh of the grid’s generators is much lower than that of the ship's auxiliary engines.
