Waterfront electrification: Port of Seattle unpacks new clean energy vision

The Port of Seattle has unveiled a new clean energy strategy aimed at gauging the power infrastructure investments and initiatives needed to support the electrification of vessels, equipment, buildings and vehicles owned by the port.

As disclosed, the Seattle Waterfront Clean Energy Strategy (SWCES) was developed together with the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) and Seattle City Light (SCL). It was reportedly created to provide technical, policy and planning recommendations for how the port (and its partners) should construct the necessary infrastructure to support a zero-emission maritime transition by 2050.

The plan is described as “particularly significant” right now, given that the estimates are that the port’s operations at peak times could increase fourfold by 2050, meaning clean energy infrastructure could be ‘essential’ for the Port of Seattle to meet its sustainability targets.

As informed, some ‘major’ findings that SWCES unearthed are:

• Shore power for oceangoing vessels is, as of yet, the ‘key’ driver of near-term power demand;
• Both Seattle City Light and the port are anticipated to exceed the present electrical capacity planning limits;
• The most ‘cost-effective’ means of addressing the constraints is upgrading the