Port Aarhus Denmark has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the country's first port to offer onshore power supply (OPS) to cruise ships. The inauguration occurred on June 20th, with AIDAmar being the first vessel to connect to the onshore power for nearly the entire duration of her stay in the port, which lasted 5-6 hours.
Since then, several other cruise vessels have also utilized this shore power service, including TUI's Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 6, HAL-Holland America's ms Rotterdam and ms Nieuw Statendam, AIDA's AIDAsol, Fred Olsen's Bolette.
Morten Kusk, the commercial manager of the Port of Aarhus, expressed his satisfaction with the response from cruise ship companies, stating that they are working on a case-by-case basis and that there is significant interest in equipping their ships to utilize shore power. He believes that between 30% to 40% of the cruise ships calling at the port next year will connect to the OPS, and the number is expected to grow further in the future.
The installation of the onshore power supply cost a total of EUR 7 million, with contributions from the port (EUR 5 million), the city of Aarhus (EUR 1 million), and the EU (EUR 1 million). The local supply company, Konstant, is responsible for providing the energy and has guaranteed the port that the required electricity will always be available.
Situated on Pier 129, the 16 mW installation offers connections at both the fore and aft ends to accommodate different hookup locations on various ships. The pier can handle one ship at a time, with a maximum overall length of 319 meters for the vessels.
The energy supplied through OPS is eco-friendly, with 75% coming from green sources this year, increasing to 90% next year and reaching 100% by 2025. The primary source of this green energy is wind turbines.