The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) in the USA has commissioned its shore power infrastructure at Terminal 5.
On April 10, the containership MSC Brunella became the first vessel to plug into the power infrastructure, utilising clean energy from the City of Seattle’s electrical grid to power the vessel while at berth.
The inaugural plug-in is a significant environmental milestone for the NWSA. Shore power infrastructure reduces diesel particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions by allowing vessels to turn off their diesel engines and connect to the local power grid while being worked at the dock.
“Terminal 5 is an important asset to our region’s economy, adding critical capacity to the west coast that increases cargo movement through our gateway, and now, reduces the environmental impact of port operations on our workers and surrounding near-port neighbourhoods,” said the NWSA’s co-chair Deanna Keller.
“We thank the Washington State Legislature for their USD4.4 million investment in Terminal 5 shore power and look forward to expanding shore power infrastructure across our facilities including the upcoming installation of shore power at Husky Terminal in our South harbour.”
