Thursday, December 13, 2018 - 12:40 by kristiansand
10th of September marked the official opening of Europe`s largest shore power facility in Kristiansand.
The opening is a milestone in the ports rich history, and a game changer for the maritime industry in Norway.
Prominent guests, speeches and buzzing atmosphere was characteristic of the day.
“We want to congratulate the entire team that made today’s opening of Europe’s largest shore power facility for cruise ships possible. This is an important step for the future of cruise sustainability here in Norway. And working together, we hope that this positive example can serve as a catalyst across Europe and the world for clean and sustainable operations,” says Carnivals Senior Vice President of Maritime Affairs, Tom Strang.
The EU has already set a goal for shore power in its largest ports from 2025. The Port of Kristiansand has also benefitted from this strategy in the form of EU funding to cover a large part of the investment.
Bellona has for many years called for a national Norwegian strategy to ensure that relevant measures are taken to reduce emissions from ships in port.
“We believe that this installation will serve as a good example for the other major cruise ports along the coast. But I don’t think all ports can count on similar generous funding from the EU,” Hauge maintains.
The Port of Kristiansand position themselves as Europe`s leading port in terms of shore power technology. A systematic approach was initiated back in 2009 when the Port became the first certified Eco-lighthouse. In 2014 the first high voltage shore power facility opened when the Color Line ship, Superspeed was connected.
The facility that now has opened is even larger. The system will be integrated in a total of 8 20¨ containers that can deliver up 16 MVA electrical energy and in accordance to the international high voltage IEC 80005-1 standard.
– To all of you that have made this possible. Thank you. This will lead us toward an electric future with less pollution. This is green technology at its best, the Port Director Halvard Aglen concluded in his final speech of the day.
