The application of ship shore power in China is set to enter a "fast lane"

Recently, the Ministry of Transport issued the Port Shore Power Layout and Construction Plan (hereinafter referred to as the Plan). It divides China’s ports into two major categories: coastal ports and inland river ports, and into two tiers: major ports, ports within emission control areas, and other ports above designated size. It puts forward layout and construction requirements for four types of specialized berths, namely container, passenger-roll-on/roll-off, cruise and dry bulk berths, as well as general bulk cargo berths along the Yangtze River trunk line.

In accordance with the plan, by the end of 2020, more than 50% of the specialized container, passenger-ro-ro, cruise and dry bulk berths at China’s major coastal and inland river ports and ports within emission control areas, and over 10% of such berths at other ports above designated size, as well as more than 50% of general bulk cargo berths along the Yangtze River trunk line, shall be capable of supplying shore power to berthed ships. Industry insiders stated that the release of the Plan will accelerate shore power construction in China, and relevant manufacturers should get prepared to embrace the coming market opportunities.

National Large-scale Layout

The Plan proposes that by the end of 2018, a total of 926 specialized berths capable of providing shore power to ships will be deployed nationwide, including 311 in coastal areas and 615 in inland waterways. By the end of 2020, the number will rise to 1,543 nationwide, among which 519 are coastal and 1,024 are inland river berths.

It is understood that since the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the Ministry of Transport has actively promoted the construction of port shore power projects through pilot demonstration programs and special financial subsidies. According to preliminary investigations, as of July 2016, there were 1,278 operational berths capable of supplying shore power at ports above designated size across the country, mostly equipped with small-capacity low-voltage fixed-frequency equipment.

There were 292 berths with a capacity above 200 kilovolt-amperes (kVA), including 133 coastal berths and 159 inland river berths; 29 were high-voltage and 263 low-voltage. By berth type, there were 31 specialized container berths, 20 passenger-ro-ro berths, 1 cruise berth, 89 dry bulk berths and 151 other berths.

According to incomplete statistics, about 627 ships of domestic shipping enterprises have completed shore power facility retrofitting, including 317 vessels of 3,000 deadweight tons and above: 82 container ships, 163 dry bulk carriers, 7 passenger-ro-ro ships, and 65 other vessels such as general cargo ships, multi-purpose ships and tugboats, with a total investment of approximately 147 million yuan.

Industry experts pointed out that the continuous expansion of port shore power projects has effectively reduced pollutant emissions from berthed ships and improved port environmental protection performance. Nevertheless, a number of problems still exist in the promotion process.

First, there is a lack of scientific top-level design. Existing port shore power projects have not fully covered major shipping routes and ship emission control areas. Most constructions rely on spontaneous investment by port enterprises, making it difficult to form large-scale development in the short term.

Second, high construction costs and difficulties in investment return. The investment in the construction and upgrading of port shore power facilities is relatively high. Ship owners generally lack enthusiasm for retrofitting vessels and using shore power, and port enterprises struggle to recover construction costs within a short period.

Third, supporting institutional arrangements are imperfect. Port enterprises face cumbersome approval procedures when applying for power capacity expansion during shore power system construction, and some ports encounter difficulties in obtaining such approval. The state has not yet issued unified shore power tariff standards, leaving ports unable to charge ships directly for electricity consumption. In addition, shore power operation modes remain unstandardized, with no clear regulations on operational procedures and safety liability identification.

Fourth, shore–grid interconnection technology is not yet mature. The on-load power transfer technology between onshore power supply facilities and onboard power receiving facilities still needs optimization. The on-load transfer process of some vessels may impact the ship’s power system, endanger its safety and stability, and cause damage to shipborne precision instruments.

New Opportunities for Shore Power Industrialization

To shore up weaknesses and break development bottlenecks, China will adopt a series of measures in the coming years. In accordance with the newly issued Plan, China will encourage existing ships to retrofit power receiving facilities and formulate design and construction specifications for power receiving installations on newbuild vessels.

It will further improve supporting management systems concerning shore power pricing, power sales mechanisms and power capacity expansion, and introduce supportive incentive policies jointly with relevant authorities. The formulation and revision of national technical standards for shore power will be advanced to ensure safety and stability during shore–ship connection.

Pilot demonstrations will be leveraged to form replicable and promotable port shore power construction models. The central government will set up reward funds to support shore power projects for berthed ships via subsidies in the form of rewards. Local governments are advised to allocate special funds in fiscal budgets, establish a long-term financial support mechanism, and guarantee funds for the construction, operation and maintenance of port shore power projects.

Industry experts noted a contradictory phenomenon in China’s shore power R&D sector: on the one hand, with increasing national attention to shore power development, many domestic enterprises have stepped into shore power R&D, aiming to seize market share in shore power industrialization; on the other hand, shore power industrialization involves multiple stakeholders and lacks complete supporting policies, slowing down its progress.

“The issuance of the Plan and the subsequent launch of numerous shore power projects will undoubtedly accelerate the industrialization pace of China’s shore power industry,” said the expert.

It is reported that a shore power system is generally composed of three parts: onshore power supply system, cable connection equipment, and ship power receiving system. At present, there are many domestic shore power system manufacturers, but most mainly produce low-voltage shore power equipment, which is similar to low-voltage AC charging piles without grid-connected devices. Featuring low technical content, such products can only serve inland river vessels in most cases.

In the long run, however, high-voltage shore power systems represent the future development trend of ship shore power. High-voltage shore power supplies feature large capacity; a single cable connection can meet the daily power demand of ships during berthing, offering advantages such as convenient connection and automated operation. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has also formulated shore power standards based on the high-voltage shore-to-ship power supply mode.

To promote the application of shore power and consolidate its development trend, China has continuously carried out research on high-voltage variable-frequency uninterrupted power supply technology in recent years, obtained a number of patents, and formulated corresponding national standards. A full range of ship shore power systems has been launched, including high-voltage variable-frequency shore power supplies, low-voltage shore power supplies and small-capacity shore power equipment for inland river terminals, capable of serving various types of ships at home and abroad.

Industry experts suggest that China should focus on tackling key technologies such as on-load power transfer between onshore supply and onboard receiving facilities based on existing research achievements. Port operators, supporting manufacturers and shipping companies should strengthen collaboration, establish a feedback mechanism, make full use of preferential policies, and accelerate the application and industrialization of shore power in China.