On-shore power
terminals.

 
The air quality in the port of Kiel is very good. However, we as PORT OF KIEL strive to proactively develop solutions and do our part for keeping the air clean in our city. This is what we promised to do in our BLUE PORT concept, this is the way we plan and act - and not just since yesterday. On-shore power is a sensible way for the ferries and cruise ships berthing in Kiel‘s city port to avoid the emission of air pollutants and noise during their docking times.

With the Color Line ferries at the Norwegenkai and the ferries of the Stena Line shipping company at the Schwedenkai, 44 percent for the energy demand of the vessels berthing in the port of Kiel are covered in an emission-free and climate-neutral way. With the integration of the cruise vessels, it is going to be no less than 60 to 70 percent.

 
Ticked off? No way!
We also plan the establishment of on-shore power for the vessels in Ostuferhafen. Kiel thus takes a leading position.


Our On-Shore Power Terminals
at a glance.

Graphik: PORT OF KIEL

On-shore power plant and connecting points Ostseekai

Graphik: PORT OF KIEL

On-shore power connecting point Schwedenkai

Graphik: PORT OF KIEL

On-shore power connecting point Norwegenkai

On-shore power plants Ostuferhafen


Full power high voltage.

We set standards.
On-shore power? That’s what all ports offer these days, isn’t it? At least this is the impression you could get when following the discussions about this matter. Simply plugging in to turn the engines off. That doesn’t sound hard. But actually there are only a few ports in Europe, e.g. Oslo, Kristiansand, Gothenburg and Stockholm in Scandinavia, who provide on-shore power to big ferries on a regular basis. For cruise ships, shore power has only been made available in Hamburg and Kristiansand so far.

Why is that so?
The vessels of international shipping companies are equipped with different technology standards in regards to shore power. They have varying requirements regarding their electricity demand ranging from 3-16 megawatts (MW). So first of all, you have to find a way to actually meet these high demands for power as the required quantities are comparable to the demand of small towns. What’s even more, the voltages and the frequencies between the on-board grid and the shore-side power supply system vary (6.6/11 kV and 50/60 Hz).

To put it bluntly this means: high investments in transformers and frequency converters. Furthermore, the available output power of the network operator needs to be considered too, especially when it comes to short circuit current and peak demands of the ships. So it does not work to just plug in and play.

Project on-shore power

On-shore power Norwegenkai.

Kiel’s first on-shore power supply plant has been in operation at the Norwegenkai since May 2019 and supplies electricity to the ferries of the Norwegian shipping company Color Line. The vessels “Color Fantasy” and “Color Magic” connect Kiel with Oslo on a daily basis. The annual electricity demand during the berthing time amounts to about 4 million kilowatt hours. This is the energy that the on-shore power supply plant provides to Kiel’s Norwegenkai: with a maximum power input of 4.5 megawatts at an electric voltage of 10 kilovolts  and a grid frequency of 50 Hertz.

Of course , we only use 100 percent green power when supplying our customers with on-shore power through our new on-shore power plant.

Picture: PORT OF KIEL