Yichang sets new milestone in shore electricity supply to ships
Photo by Wu Zhizun
Yichang has set a new monthly record for providing shore electrical power to docked ships. According to the State Grid Yichang Electric Power Supply Company, the city supplied 1.78 million kWh of shore power in July 2023, the highest monthly amount ever recorded.
In total, 6.27 million kWh of shore power was provided for 7,387 ships over the first seven months of 2023.
As home to the Three Gorges Dam and a vital port along the Yangtze, Yichang serves heavy ship traffic. Wang Yueming, chief engineer of Yichang Traffic Transport Bureau, said approximately 50,000 ships pass through the Three Gorges Dam Ship Lock every year, and every day about 500 ships are docked in the Three Gorges Section of the Yangtze River, queuing for the ship lock transit to “climb” over the Dam.
Traditionally, docked ships run onboard generators to produce electricity, however, this is costly and creates significant amounts of pollution. Shore-based power supplies provide a cheaper and cleaner alternative.
By using the onshore power grid instead of running their engines, docked ships are able to drastically reduce fuel consumption and emissions. For a 1,200-ton cruise ship, powering itself overnight burns nearly 2 tons of fuel oil, costing over 15,000 yuan (US$2,074). Shore power reduces that by 70 percent.
The savings and environmental benefits are driving the adoption of shore power in Yichang and beyond.
Since adopting the technology in 2015, Yichang has made impressive strides. The city now has 168 shore power stations, covering all 67 of its wharves. Yichang has become the first city in the Yangtze Basin to achieve 100 percent shore power coverage.
As of July 2023, Yichang has supplied 29.39 million kWh of shore power for 19,000 ships since the initiative began in 2015. It is estimated that for ships to produce the same amount of power through onboard generation, 6,900 tons of fuel oil would have been burned with an emission of 21,000 tons of exhaust.
