Tackling ship pollution from the shore

Electrical power consumption at the shore side has rapidly grown for commercial ships. The environmental impact of the pollution created while at berth has many ports restricting the operation of onboard generators. Shutting off these on-board generators and supplying ship's power from the shore power system can reduce the air pollution emissions. With the development of medium voltage power plugs and receptacle assemblies, cold ironing projects for larger ships are more prevalent. Various organizations are working on developing standards for implementing shore power. This article will highlight the efforts of the IEEE, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to develop standards for medium-voltage on-shore power supply connections for serving commercial vessels.