DECARBONISATION TOOL
TARGETING NET ZERO National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) has partnered with Siemens to create a free online tool to help UK ports meet their net zero targets. AJ Keyes looks at how it can help “The problem is not a lack of will, it is just that the challenge is so great, explained Dr Sean Jones, Consultant, Power Technologies International, adding, “It is not a simple matter of moving away from fossil fuels but being able to engineer systems that enable low-carbon alternatives that is needed.” In order to help this process, NGET and Siemens, with support and guidance from the British Ports Association (BPA), have developed a “decarbonisation tool” that can help ports directly forecast the future infrastructure required to meet the foreseen increased electrical capacity based on zero emission port operations. The UK government’s Department for Transport states that the maritime sector in the UK is currently responsible for five per cent of total UK transport emissions, with diesel fuel the dominant power source. However, current estimates state that by 2050 annual electricity throughout the port industry is expected to reach 250 Gigawatt hours (GWh) under the base case, ‘business as usual’ scenario – and substantially higher under potential (ambitious) emission reduction scenarios. The reduction of harmful emissions in the environment, with key net zero targets for 2050 being set, is highly topical with strong interest from diverse sectors of the port industry in the UK. TWO TOOL VERSIONS While there is a clear demand for cleaner energy, how realistic are these targets and, of even greater importance, how might they be reached? Jones offers a very frank response: “There is a long way to go,” he emphasises, explaining that the process will be “challenging but critically important.” This new Decarbonisation Tool represents a positive step forward. It is offered in two versions. One form of it makes assessments based on the asset information input, while the second version is customisable, thereby allowing the port to change the assumptions, as appropriate. The flexibility helps ensure that the tool is simple to use, and, crucially, gives ports preliminary guidance to allow for a more detailed insight to meet their requirements. Then, once a port has downloaded and worked through the Decarbonisation Tool, it can contact National Grid with the preliminary findings, for a more in-depth conversation, if required. Lynsey Jeffers, Siemens’ Smart Infrastructure Sector Lead for UK Ports, offers further insight: “This tool will help ports get a better idea of what their options are when it comes to electrification. Ports are used to planning for the long term. Port infrastructure, plant and machinery lasts for decades and a lot of the thinking, planning and investment in lowering emissions from ships and ports needs to happen sooner rather than later.”
an estimate of the connection required to the local distribution network and the national transmission system, the decarbonisation tool can help accelerate the transition,” Jones underlines. It does this by asking questions about the assets a port has on site – from the number of berths, and types of cranes, to the number of car parking spaces – matching it with estimates of the peak power demand for the site. Jones highlights the Port of Tyne as one port that is currently working with Siemens to create a blueprint for the decarbonisation of UK ports through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, which supports initiatives to reduce emissions from the maritime sector . The project has funding from the Department of Transport and the Clean Tyne project will run until the end Q1 2022, with plans to demonstrate and disseminate the learnings and outputs with all ports in the UK. Mark Simmonds, Director of Policy & External Affairs, British Ports Association, notes: “With the support of the Decarbonisation Tool, UK ports can begin to plan their transition to alternative fuels using energy from low or zero emission sources, as well as the integration of ports into the decarbonised energy network.”
8 A new Decarbonisation Tool has been launched to help UK ports transition to alternative fuels and better integrate into the decarbonised energy network
8 The Port of Tyne, is a test bed for a new decarbonisation tool developed by the UK’s National Grid Electricity Transmission in collaboration with Siemens
ACCELERATE THE TRANSITION Jones confirms that ports in the UK have already begun to decarbonise, with government modelling showing they can achieve net zero through a transition to alternative fuel and the integration of ports into the decarbonised energy network. This is where the new tool is especially supportive. “By modelling future peak demand for electricity and giving
46 | MARCH 2022
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