PortMiami will soon have five berths ready to plug in cruise ships, as an ambitious shore power project was completed in just under three years with the help of WSP, an engineering firm that made it happen.

“It was a very quick turnaround to get it operational,” said Mark Valenti, project manager and Southeast region maritime lead for WSP.

That included figuring out how to get power to the terminals in an already crowded port with plenty of underground utilities, and working to design and install substations and much more, down to the actual plugs for the ships.

Valenti said the project has been future-proofed, taking into account ships that did not exist yet and even sea levels over the next 75 years.

“The goal in Miami was 100 percent utilization for all cruise ships,” said Valenti, who noted WSP is also involved at Carnival’s new private destination in the Bahamas and has worked on other projects for cruise lines in the Bahamas, plus the recently developed Nassau Cruise Port for Global Ports Holding.

For Miami, four berths are essentially ready to go, and MSC’s new terminal will be set for a shore power system when it opens early next year in time for the new World America.

“We are talking about a lot of power,” Valenti said, adding they had worked closely with Florida Power & Light throughout the project. “We designed a fully flexible system to accommodate these variations.”

One particular interesting point is the container-ized substations that Powercon supplied, which are unique to Miami’s installation and have an artistic flair.

“This project was a true partnership with the building department, cruise lines, manufacturers and more. It’s been a team effort.

“Now that Miami has done this, other ports are in a race to get it done,” Valenti said.