A study of the potential of shore power for the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan: To introduce or not to introduce?

To reduce ship emissions in port and city environments, cold ironing, or shore power has been suggested and implemented in many global advanced ports. Shore power is a land-to-ship electricity connection that allows ships to switch off onboard diesel-powered generators while docked. However, numerous challenges have prevented its implementation in many parts of the world. This paper explores these challenges as they have been experienced in the port of Kaohsiung (Taiwan). First, the comparisons of fiscal and environmental emission (NOx and CO2) benefits when introducing shore power are quantitatively calculated for the future. Against the backdrop of these quantitative calculations, the results from qualitative, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders are presented and discussed. The quantitative calculations show that there are indeed significant fiscal, environmental and socio-economic emission benefits to be gained from introducing shore power in the long term; but that the implementation cost is high. Furthermore, the qualitative interview data show that perceptions of the current political and global economic climates, despite recognizing these benefits, arguably prevent such an introduction at the current time. Suggestions for future research and conclusions regarding considerations for the introduction of shore power for port authorities and governments to consider are made. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.