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Friday, November 15, 2013 Container ships plug in at Port of OaklandContainer carriers at the Port of Oakland will be plugging in to shore-side energy, in an effort to curb pollution. On Friday, port leaders officially marked the completion of its new electrical grid that provides electrical power to docking ships, letting them plug-in and switch off engines while loading and unloading cargo. The program responds to new regulations by the California Air Resources Board targeted at reducing port pollution 80 percent by 2020. "Now they'll be able to come plug-in to grid power which is cleaner," said Port of Oakland Spokesman Isaac Kos-Read. The port installed powered sub-stations at 11 terminal berths at a cost $70 million dollars, half paid by state and federal grants, and the rest covered by port revenue. Shipping line had to retrofit existing ships with the new technology. A shipping industry spokesman said the work cost more than one million dollars per ship. "Every single vessel that comes in and plugs-in, either had to be built new with the specs for plugging-in, or retrofitted," said Mike Jacob, director of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. Jacob said container ships normally run auxiliary engines while loading and unloading cargo, a process that can take 24 to 48 hours. The engines generally power things like lighting, kitchen equipment and cargo refrigeration equipment. The visiting ships will pay approximately $260 per hour for plugging in to the port's electrical grid, in contrast to the roughly $300 dollars an hour they spend on fuel to power auxiliary engines. The port plans to begin the program on January 1. More: nbcbayarea.com Apple invests record $10.5B in manufacturing tech (video) Toolmaker shortage could stall in U.S. auto manufacturing Massive iceberg could enter shipping lanes Inside the Maersk McKinney Moeller, the world's biggest container ship (slide show)
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