The Port of Los Angeles is now providing shore-side power to three separate cruise lines using its Alternative Maritime Power mobile power system.
Port officials report that in recent weeks vessels from Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruises and Princess Cruise Line have all hooked up to the AMP system while berthed at the port's World Cruise Center.
Auxiliary engines providing maintenance power while docked generate more than half of all air pollutants emitted by a typical cargo vessel calling at the port. Cruise ships must generate even more maintenance power while docked and thus emission reductions from using the AMP system are even more significant.
Using AMP, just one variation of a shore-side power system, vessels plug into the landside power grid, enabling them to turn off their auxiliary engines.
The port claims to be the first port in the world to provide shore-side power to three cruise lines and the first port where two cruise ships can be connected simultaneously. The port also offers both 6.6 kV and 11 kV electrical power distribution systems – the two most commonly used aboard cruise ships.
According to the port, the typical power demand of the cruise ships calling at the port is anywhere between 8 to 13 megawatts of power – roughly enough to power from 1,000 to 2,000 homes. The port's AMP system can deliver a maximum of 40 megawatts of power, with 20 megawatts of power delivery capacity to each of the two different ships.
The port first installed the AMP system in 2004 and now features three major container terminals with the system. The neighboring Port of Long Beach also features shore-side power at several locations.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
