Port Microgrids Could Solve the Capacity Problem Behind Cold Ironing

INNIO's cold-ironing white paper argues that integrated microgrids can help ports deliver shore power where grid capacity is limited or costly.

The hardest part of shore power is often not the plug. It is the electricity behind it. INNIO's white paper on cold ironing and microgrids frames the challenge directly: ports face rising electricity demand at berth, but grid upgrades can be slow, expensive or insufficient for peak vessel loads.

The proposed answer is an integrated microgrid model combining dispatchable generation, battery storage, solar PV, waste-heat recovery and advanced controls. Public summaries describe a representative scenario with shore-power demand of around 20 MW against an available grid connection of 3 MW.

The debate should move beyond whether a berth has OPS to whether the port energy system can supply it reliably, cleanly and economically during real operating peaks.

INNIO's microgrid work points to the real bottleneck behind OPS: not only installing the connection, but supplying clean, reliable capacity when ships need it.

Key Information and Statistics

• Representative 20 MW peak shore-power demand;
• 3 MW available grid connection;
• microgrid components include BESS, PV, cogeneration and controls.