EMEA News
Klaipeda Port Installs First Onshore Power Supply Station
Lithuania's Port of Klaipeda has installed its first onshore power supply (OPS) station at the port authority's fleet base.
The facility will be connected to the grid for testing later this year and will initially supply electricity to a new hydrogen-electric waste collection vessel due to arrive in Klaipeda by year-end, Port of Klaipeda said in an email statement on Thursday.
Shore power, or cold ironing, is increasingly being adopted at ports, especially in Europe.
It helps to reduce emissions by allowing ships to plug into electricity rather than run diesel generators while docked.
"By the end of this year, the first clean-fuel vessel will arrive, and our new charging equipment at the Fleet Base will be ready to serve it, Algis Latakas, General Director of Klaipeda State Seaport Authority, said.
"This is only the beginning - by 2030 ships at berth will have to switch off engines and use shore power, and we're preparing to meet that demand."
The OPS project, costing almost EUR 601,000 ($706,000), was carried out by Elektrifikacijos paslaugos under a contract signed at the end of last year.
Further OPS stations are planned at Klaipeda to serve ro-ro vessels from 2026, with cruise and container ships set to follow.
