EALING Project has been featured on the first 2023 issue of the Baltic Transport Journal. The contribution – provided by Rezá Karimpour, Senior Research Consultant in Maritime and Port Projects (Circle Group) and Ignacio Benítez, R&D Engineer in Energy and Sustainability (Fundación Valenciaport) – highlights technical, economic, environmental, policy and legal recommendations developed within EALING project to encourage the adoption of Shore-Side Electricity (SSE) in European ports
Since transport accounts for a quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions, the European Commission has developed several strategies and regulations to reach climate neutrality by 2050, including the 2030 Climate Target Plan, the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, the Fit for 55 Package, and the Efficient & Green Mobility Package. To support these initiatives, EALING has proposed several recommendations in its documents (summarized in the article), including simplifying administrative burdens at national, regional, and local levels to build and operate SSE infrastructures, increasing public funding, and including tax exemptions for electricity provided to vessels at berth in the revised Energy Taxation Directive.
The article also provides recommendations related to the technical aspects of SSE, including the need for standardisation or guidelines, appropriate training for people handling SSE connectors, and the use of load forecasting models to reduce uncertainty. Furthermore, close cooperation between shipping lines and ports, carrying out cost-benefit analyses and creating additional funding mechanisms is encouraged.
Recommendations also relate to the environmental aspects of SSE, including promoting the creation of an eco-certificate addressed to shipping lines and encouraging the registration of ships in the Clean Shipping Index (CSI), with high CSI scores receiving rebates in participating European ports. With the implementation of these recommendations, EALING aims to accelerate the shift to sustainable and smart mobility and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.
