GVHA-Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (Victoria BC, Vancouver Island, BC Canada) is closer to bringing shoreside power to the cruise terminal in James Bay.
It is an idea that has been studied for over 2 years, with the goal of eliminating emissions from vessels idling at the port.
According to GVHA's CEO Ian Robertson, ~96% of all emissions emanating from the terminal came from cruise ships. ~75% of those emissions came from when the vessels were alongside the pier.
Last week, the board of Greater Victoria Harbour Authority approved moving ahead with the installation of shore power at the dock.
Robertson said the installation of shore power would see an immediate, 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The plan is to install 2 plugs, which meant they could allow 2 ships to plug in at one time.
“The cost is significant. It’s in the neighbourhood of $24 million.”
GVHA will be asking for funding from a variety of levels of government and from the cruise industry, currently paralyzed by the pandemic.
The GVHA hopes to use the shore power in the offseason for some of the freighters moored off the coast burning diesel.