Commission Recommendation of  8 May 2006  on the promotion of shore-side electricity for use by ships at berth in Community ports   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-05-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: air quality, common ports policy, electricity supply, harbour installation, pollution from ships, reduction of gas emissions

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Official Journal of the European Union

12.5.2006

COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION

of 8 May 2006

on the promotion of shore-side electricity for use by ships at berth in Community ports

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2006/339/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 211 thereof,

establishing the European

Whereas:

In November 2002 the Commission adopted a Commu-
nication to the European Parliament and the Council on
atmospheric
a European Union strategy to reduce
emissions from seagoing ships (1), which urged port
authorities to require, incentivise or facilitate ships’ use
of land-based electricity while in port.

The European Parliament, in its resolution on the strategy
of 4 December 2003 (2), pointed out that the use of
land-based electricity in port could be facilitated by the
production of a report describing positive examples of
these measures, as well as their costs and benefits.

(6)

(7)

(8)

Ship engine emissions are regulated at international level
through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
The evolution of
to
these standards
respond to port air quality problems in the Community.

insufficient

is

Article 4b of Council Directive 1999/32/EC of 26 April
1999 relating to a reduction in the sulphur content of
certain liquid fuels and amending Directive 93/12/EEC (5)
as regards the sulphur content of marine fuels, exempts
ships which switch off all engines and use shore-side
electricity while at berth in ports from the requirement
to use 0,1 % sulphur marine fuel.

the Community

Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003
restructuring
the
taxation of energy products and electricity (6) permits
Member States to apply total or partial exemptions or
reductions in the level of taxation to electricity under
certain conditions,

framework

for

HEREBY RECOMMENDS:

in its Conclusions on the strategy of 22
The Council,
December 2003 (3),
recognised that not all environ-
mental problems are properly addressed at international
level and that, in particular, the contribution of seagoing
ships to the concentration of particulate matter and of
ozone and its precursors in ambient air needed further
consideration.

1. Member States should consider the installation of shore-side
electricity for use by ships at berth in ports; particularly in
ports where air quality limit values are exceeded or where
public concern is expressed about high levels of noise
nuisance, and especially in berths situated near residential
areas.

The Commission, in the context of its Communication
‘The Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme: Towards a
thematic strategy for air quality’ (4),
re-examined the
contribution of shipping to the concentration of air
pollutants in ambient air and found it to be significant,
the
particularly in port areas.
attainment of air quality standards may be jeopardised
by ship emissions.

In some port areas,

CAFE found that reducing ship emissions is increasingly
cost-effective compared to further measures in other
sectors. Most ship pollutant emissions at berth can
only be reduced through engine and after-treatment
measures or through the use of shore-side electricity.

(1) COM(2002) 595 final.
(2) OJ C 89 E, 14.4.2004, p. 107.
(3) OJ C 8, 13.1.2004, p. 3.
(4) COM(2001) 245 final.

2. Member States should take note of the advice, set out in the
Annex, on the cost-effectiveness and practicality of using
shore-side electricity to reduce emissions for different types
of ships, routes and ports. Nevertheless, the environmental
benefits and cost-effectiveness should be evaluated on a case
by case basis.

3. Member States

should work within the

International
the
Maritime Organization (IMO),
ongoing review of
the International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention),
to promote the development of harmonised international
standards for shore-side electrical connections, taking into
account ongoing work.

context of

in the

(5) OJ L 121, 11.5.1999, p. 13. Directive as last amended by Directive
2005/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ
L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 59).

(6) OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51. Directive as last amended by Directive
2004/75/EC (OJ L 157, 30.4.2004, p. 100, corrected by OJ L 195,
2.6.2004, p. 31).

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

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4. Member States should consider offering economic incentives
to operators to use shore-side electricity provided to ships,
taking advantage of the possibilities set out in Community
legislation.

7. Member States should report to the Commission on the
action they intend to take to reduce ship emissions in
ports, particularly where air quality limit values are exceeded.

5. Member States should promote awareness of shore-side elec-
tricity among local authorities whose responsibility includes
port areas, maritime authorities, port authorities, classifi-
cation societies and industry associations.

Done at Brussels, 8 May 2006.

6. Member States

should encourage port authorities and
industry to exchange best practice concerning shore-side
electricity supply and harmonising procedures
this
service.

for

For the Commission

Stavros DIMAS
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX

SHORE-SIDE ELECTRICITY SUMMARY ADVICE

This Annex provides pertinent information on the costs and benefits of shore-side electricity. More detailed information is
contained in the recent report for the Commission, Service Contract on ship emissions assignment, abatement and
market-based instruments: Shore-side electricity (1). The emissions and cost figures here are for seagoing ships, but the
technique is also well suited to inland vessels.

1. Technical requirements — typical configuration

The diagram below illustrates typical requirements for a shore-side electricity connection. Other configurations are
possible, depending on the ship and berth. The International Electrical Commission and International Association of
Classification Societies are currently working on industry standards, which can, in the future, be considered by the IMO.

1. A connection to the national grid carrying 20-100 kV electricity from a local substation, where it is transformed to

6-20 kV.

2. Cables to deliver the 6-20 kV power from the sub-station to the port terminal.

3. Power conversion, where necessary. (Electricity supply in the Community generally has a frequency of 50 Hz. A ship
designed for 60 Hz electricity might be able to use 50 Hz electricity for some equipment, such as domestic lighting
and heating, but not for motor driven equipment such as pumps, winches and cranes. Therefore, a ship using 60 Hz
electricity would require 50 Hz electricity to be converted to 60 Hz).

4. Cables to distribute electricity to the terminal. These might be installed underground within existing or new conduits.

5. A cable reel system, to avoid handling of high voltage cables. This might be built on the berth supporting a cable reel,
davit and frame. The davit and frame could be used to raise and lower the cables to the vessel. The cable reel and
frame could be electro-mechanically powered and controlled.

6. A socket onboard the vessel for the connecting cable.

7. A transformer on board the vessel to transform the high voltage electricity to 400 V.

8. The electricity is distributed around the ship, and the auxiliary engines switched off.

2. Benefits — emissions reductions

Shore-side electricity is a tool that can be used to achieve local air quality improvements. The benefits from its use vary
greatly depending on a range of factors. The Impact Assessment accompanying this Recommendation provides an
illustration of the benefits that could be achieved through a larger use of this tool within the EU. Before proceeding
with individual
installations it will be necessary to perform an analysis of the costs and benefits for the specific
circumstances.

(1) See: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/pdf/task2_shore-side.pdf

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The Impact Assessment illustrates the reduction in air pollutant emissions for 500 berths assuming medium-sized
engines. One important factor influencing the benefits is the sulphur content of the fuel. Community law sets tighter
limits on the content of sulphur in fuel used at berth in most conditions from 2010. Therefore illustrations are provided
for fuel sulphur content of 2,7 and 0,1 %. It is shown that the use of shore-side electricity would realise total monetised
benefits in a range of between EUR 252 and 708 million per annum where 2,7 % sulphur fuel would have been used and
between EUR 103 and 284 million per annum where 0,1 % sulphur fuel would have been used. These reflect improved
human health and reduced material damage as a result of reductions in air pollutant emissions (1).

Switching to shore-side electricity will also result in other benefits that are not included in these figures. It will reduce
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by over 50 %, carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by about 99 %, and nitrous oxide
emissions (N20) by over 50 %. It will eliminate vibrations and noise from auxiliary engines, which has been measured at
90-120 dB in close proximity and improve maintenance conditions for the ships’ engineers.

3. Costs — capital expenditure and operating costs

The costs of installing and using shore-side electricity are split between the port and the ship, and will vary significantly
depending on existing infrastructure, particularly on the port side. The Impact Assessment provides indicative calculations
of the total annualised system costs for an average berth and for new and retrofit vessels with different auxiliary engine
sizes. The results are shown in table 1.

It can be seen that overall costs are much lower for ships with larger auxiliary engines, which are also likely to result in
the greatest pollutant emission reduction. Costs are also much lower where shore-side electricity is installed in newly built
ships as opposed to retrofitting. Fuel and electricity costs are a very significant factor in the cost to ships. Fuel costs vary,
but lower sulphur fuel will be more expensive than higher sulphur fuel. Lowering taxation on electricity supplied to ships
at berth increases the attractiveness of shore-side electricity.

Table 1

SHIP TYPE
Auxiliary engine size

Annualised total system costs

with tax
low fuel price

no tax
high fuel price

(EUR/berth/year)

(EUR/berth/year)

164 659

269 416

521 630

202 783

324 402

617 999

82 315

39 904
– 72 298

120 439

94 890

24 071

NEWBUILD

Small

Medium

Large

RETROFIT

Small

Medium

Large

4. Comparison of benefits and costs

The annual monetised benefits of reducing the four pollutants at 500 berths are estimated to be between EUR 103 and
284 million where 0,1 % sulphur fuel would have been used and between EUR 252 and 708 million where 2,7 %
sulphur fuel would have been used. The range of values depends on various methodological factors including the assumed
value of statistical life. For more detail see the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution (2) impact assessment.

The annualised total system costs per berth set out in table 1 depend on three factors: the size of the ships’ engines,
whether the technology is introduced to a new or an old ship and on electricity and marine fuel costs. The Impact
Assessment shows that the cost of ships using shore-side electricity at 500 berths is estimated to be EUR 185 million
more annually than ships using marine fuel, in a scenario with a low marine fuel price and full electricity tax paid by
vessels. In a scenario with a higher fuel price and electricity tax were fully exempt, the total cost would reduce by 80 % to
about EUR 34 million per annum.

(1) See http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/cafe/activities/pdf/cafe_cba_externalities.pdf (page 4). Values are national averages (urban

and rural combined) so benefits may be higher in city centre ports.

(2) SEC(2005) 1133.

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These figures show that for many situations the benefits of shore-side electricity outweigh the costs. In many case the
benefits are a large multiple of the costs.

5. Conclusion

The benefits and costs of shore-side electricity vary significantly depending on the existing configuration and location of
the port, berth and ship. This means that its cost-effectiveness needs to be studied on a case-by-case basis, and that direct
reduction of marine engine emissions should continue to be pursued.

In environmental terms, shore-side electricity achieves emission reductions well beyond those achieved from switching to
0,1 % sulphur fuel at berth (as Directive 2005/33/EC requires from 2010), particularly for NOx and PM. It therefore
merits particular consideration in ports where ship NOx and PM emissions are contributing to local air quality problems,
such as exceedances of ambient air quality limit values for ozone and particles.

In general the figures suggest that for ships with larger engines regularly visiting the same port, switching to shore-side
electricity should be both environmentally and economically preferable to using 0,1 % sulphur fuel. In economic terms,
shore-side electricity should generate savings compared to low sulphur fuel for new-build ships regularly visiting the same
ports, especially, but not only, if electricity tax reductions are offered as allowed under Directive 2003/96/EC. Member
States and local authorities might wish to consider other means to encourage ports to invest in shore-side electricity
infrastructure and to ensure its use.