A new onshore power connection for passenger ships was completed next to the Olympia Terminal at the South Harbour in Helsinki at the turn of last year.
The system’s placement into service was delayed, due to travel restrictions. After passenger traffic began to recover, testing was completed and the onshore power supply was made available to ships.
While ships are berthed in port the onshore power supply will reduce the climate emissions generated considerably, by as much as 50–80%, the port claimed, as the auxiliary engines needed to generate electricity will not run.
“This environmental investment improves air quality and reduces both carbon dioxide emissions and noise in the centre of Helsinki,” said Ville Haapasaari, Port of Helsinki EO.
“For us, the use of an onshore power supply at the port is an important step towards a carbon-neutral port by 2035.”
“In the near future, we will also be starting several similar onshore power investments in other parts of the port. International standards on technical solutions for the implementation of an onshore power supply are still lacking in part, and large investments must be customised according to the needs of each vessel.
“The investment in an onshore power supply for the Olympia Terminal included automation engineering and technology, renovation of the existing transformer, quay construction and the most significant part, the onshore power system and its installation, among other things, “ he added.
Earlier, onshore power connections were implemented for the Tallink Silja ropaxes operating from the Olympia Terminal in 2018/2019.
The South Harbour’s onshore power project is partly funded by the EU under the TWIN PORT IV project. In the near future, the Port of Helsinki will also implement several projects supporting carbon neutrality with support from funding provided by the EU’s CEF Transport funding programme.
Now all the passenger traffic berthed in the South Harbour for an extended period of time on a daily basis will be covered by the onshore power supply.
