BP vessels to plug into electric power in Long Beach
In another effort by Southern California ports to reduce air pollution, the Port of Long Beach said it will provide shore-side electric power to BP oil tankers at berth so they don’t have to run diesel engines for refrigeration, lighting, pumping and other ship functions.
Under the agreement, the port will spend about $2.5 million for construction to bring power from an existing electrical substation to the terminal and BP West Coast Products LLC will retrofit two tankers at an estimated cost of about $1 million apiece.
Replacing onboard power with electrification, a process known as “cold ironing,” is already underway at the adjacent Port of Los Angeles. Earlier this summer a China Shipping containership became the first vessel to use the cold ironing process. A large transformer converts the electric power to the correct voltage to power the ship. The port is helping China Shipping foot the bill to retrofit up to 14 vessels.
A BP official said the environmental benefits outweighed the slight increase in cost associated with plugging into electric power to offload the crude.
The retrofitted tankers are expected to average 12 port calls per year ferrying oil from Alaska to BP’s Southern California refinery.
A study commissioned by the port a year ago showed that cold ironing is only cost effective for vessels that make frequent visits and have high electrical demands. One factor holding down project costs is that BP’s T121 berth is one of the few in the port with adequate existing electrical power for cold ironing.
Shore-side electrification at Berth T121 is projected to reduce greenhouse emissions by about 75 to 80 tons, as well as nitrogen oxide and other harmful compounds by three to four tons per visit, according to the port.