The Port of Aarhus in Denmark successfully completed the testing of its first shore power facility for container ships. This test was conducted with the container ship Dettifoss (with a capacity of 25,690 tons), operated by the shipping company Eimskip from Iceland. The Dettifoss, built in 2020 and measuring 180 meters in length, was connected to the shore power system for nearly 10 hours and received approximately 6.5 megawatt-hours of energy from the shore.
Benefits of Shore Power and Its Challenges
The CEO of Eimskip Denmark, Thomas Bert Clausen, expressed his satisfaction that their ship was the first to utilize shore power at the Port of Aarhus. He stated: "We have been using shore power in Iceland for some time, and helping to establish this facility in Aarhus is very important to us."
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Officials at the Port of Aarhus emphasized that this system will be ready for daily operations by January 2027, allowing ships to connect to it. According to them, this system will help reduce noise pollution and airborne particulate matter, and also prepare the Port of Aarhus to comply with future European Union regulations for moored vessels.
Challenges of Providing Shore Power for Ships
The CEO of the Port of Aarhus, Ulrik Andersen, stated that "shore power for container ships is one of the important steps in developing a more sustainable port." He also pointed out the challenges in providing power for container ships, noting that these vessels require energy for their operations, including ship infrastructure and refrigeration, which places significant pressure on the power grid.
In 2023, the Port of Aarhus opened its first shore power facility for cruise ships, but the new facility for container ships requires different flexibility. The number of ships arriving at the container port is greater, and their size and type are very diverse. Port officials announced that once the new facility is completed, up to four container ships can simultaneously benefit from shore power.
The shore power facility project at the Port of Aarhus is being implemented with the support of the European Union's "Connecting Europe" fund and is similar to efforts underway at other European ports such as Hamburg and Rotterdam. The FuelEU Maritime regulations stipulate that container and passenger ships with a gross weight of over 5,000 tons must connect to shore power while moored, with these regulations coming into effect on January 1, 2030.
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