Americas News
Canada Allocates $25 Million for Shore Power Projects
The Canadian government has announced CAD 35.5 million ($25 million) in funding to support the development of shore power projects in British Columbia.
Funding has been awarded to Seaspan Ferries, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority under the Clean Ports stream of the Green Shipping Corridor Program, the Canadian government said on Tuesday.
Funding has been allocated as follows:
- Seaspan Ferries will receive up to CAD 6.4 million to implement shore power systems at four of its terminals.
- Greater Victoria Harbour Authority will receive up to CAD 22.5 million for a shore power project at the Ogden Point cruise terminal.
- Vancouver Fraser Port Authority will receive up to CAD 6.6 million to upgrade shore power infrastructure at the Canada Place cruise terminal.
Shore power, also known as cold ironing, allows ships to connect to the local grid while docked, reducing the need for onboard generators to power vessel systems.
This helps cut air and noise pollution in ports. Whether it reduces overall emissions depends on the availability of renewable power in the local grid; where renewable power is unavailable, it has the effect of transferring emissions from a ship to local power plants.
Several ports worldwide have already adopted shore power connectivity. According to data from classification society DNV, shore power is available at 130 locations globally, with the majority concentrated in Europe.
