The Regal Princess became the first cruise ship to plug into shorepower in Norway this week as Kristiansand’s installation came on line. It is only the second functioning shorepower installation for cruise ships in Europe and was made possible by an EU grant.
The only other European port to offer shorepower for cruise ships is Hamburg at its Altona terminal.
In addition, AIDA Cruises has a hybrid solution with the AIDAperla and AIDAprima running on LNG supplied by truck while in port in Hamburg, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Southampton and Zebrugge, as well as in Barcelona and Madeira.
Other Norwegian ports have applied for grants from Enova, a government agency working to improve energy efficiencies and reduce emissions, but have been turned down. The agency said it considers cruise ship usage to be seasonal and not cost effective.
A 16 MW installation for cruise ships, like in Kristiansand, is also much more expensive than smaller installations for ferries, fishing, coastal and offshore vessels. So far Enova has awarded nearly half a billion NOK, financing up to 75 percent of the installation cost for shorepower in Norwegian ports, but not for cruise.
PowerCon of Denmark supplied the equipment and made the installation consisting of eight containers with frequency converters, transformers and switchgears.
