Capital Project Manager Port of Seattle Seattle, Washington, United States
Abstract: The air quality benefits of electrical shore power for large marine vessels are recognized as one of the more significant measures that ports can take to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The Port of Seattle’s Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy sets a bold new vision of phasing out emissions from seaport activities by 2050. The Port already has two cruise berths at their Terminal 91 Smith Cove Cruise Terminal that have been shore power capable for nearly 15 years. The Port has long considered installation of a similar shore power system at their Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66, but that facility required significant length and cost of off-site feeder from the local utility service provider, Seattle City Light (SCL). The Pier 66 Cruise Shore Power project is an early-action project for the larger Seattle Waterfront Clean Energy Strategic Plan, which envisions a decarbonized maritime industry with the Port working closely with SCL and other key maritime energy users including Washington State Ferries (WSF).
Besides obvious environmental benefits, this paper will focus on often-overlooked challenges associated with the Public Utility providing large electrical services and how that can impact project viability (both in terms of cost and proximity/capacity of the available power grid). These challenges were particularly acute for Pier 66 based on its location along the downtown Seattle waterfront.
The Port initially studied this Pier 66 project in 2011, at which time SCL intended to provide electrical service from their downtown Broad Street substation. The Port revisited the project in 2018, but then received a revised rough order of magnitude estimate from SCL for off-site costs to provide a new dedicated 26kV service to Pier 66 that was nearly four times the original 2011 estimate (due to significant development over that time in the downtown core). It became clear that SCL could more easily provide power from their South Substation, located in a more industrial area south of downtown and closer to the Port’s container terminal facilities.
These increased off-site costs necessitated consideration of lower cost alternatives. Through feasibility study and value engineering work, a solution evolved to utilize a submarine cable across Elliott Bay to bring power to the downtown Cruise Terminal along the seafloor from the Port’s Terminal 46 (T46) to the south. SCL agreed to provide electrical service to T46, allowing the Port to run on-terminal ductbanks across T46 to feed the submarine cable. This project involved coordination with both SCL and WSF, since the ferry system needs similar separate large electrical service to electrify two vessel berths at their adjacent Colman Dock terminal. Through negotiation, SCL agreed to provide a system extension to accommodate both the Pier 66 Cruise Terminal and other anticipated future downtown maritime electrification loads. The costs of the proposed T46 infrastructure and submarine cable resulted in a viable project by reducing the off-site costs. Construction will be complete in summer 2024, so this paper will also provide an overview of project construction including the unique submarine cable application.
How does this project / topic contribute to the advancement of the industry and profession?: This project highlights the potential significance of off-site utility service costs that can threaten the financial viability of shore power projects, while illustrating how a creative alternative concept revived the overall project. Shore power is a recognized emissions reduction technology, but it sometimes isn’t appreciated how difficult it can be for the public utility to provide the required magnitude of electrical power. These shore power projects require extensive coordination and partnerships with the Utility to ensure effective long-term planning by clearly communicating the anticipated future loads and locations relative to the utility provider’s grid.
Does the project / topic implement new and innovative techniques, materials, technologies, and delivery methods?: Submarine cables are commonly used for general power distribution, but it is not typical to provide a utility service entrance on one terminal and then run a submarine cable to a separate marine facility. This innovative use of a submarine cable resulted in the project staying within a viable overall project budget, but did present some unusual permitting and coordination requirements with the utility service provider and other agencies. Consideration of alternatives that would not normally be employed in Port projects led to an innovative solution to maintain financial viability of this project to support the Port’s environmental goals.
What was the most challenging aspect of your project / topic and how did you handle it to ensure success?: The most challenging aspect was cost and availability of electrical service from the Utility. This increased project design duration for negotiations with Seattle City Light (SCL) to confirm project viability. Patience through negotiations resulted in this project becoming a rare opportunity for a “win-win” between the Port and SCL. The Port was able to minimize off-site costs to keep the overall project within a viable budget, with SCL agreeing to share in funding a significant portion of the service extension. Meanwhile, the Port-provided easement along the east side of Terminal 46 provided a pathway for SCL’s necessary service grid extension.
Who is the target audience for this paper?: Target audience is Port engineers/management who are considering potential installation of vessel shore power infrastructure, either for the first time or whose past experience involved more traditional utility service. This paper will focus on an overview of steps required to plan and construct an unusual vessel shore power project, as opposed to more detailed engineering design. This will provide an overview of how critical early coordination with the public electrical utility provider is to ensure project success and identify overall project costs. This project was also interesting as availability of power and preferred source from the provider changed over time.
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