Opening of Landside Power Plant Altona: AIDAsol connected to power supply in Altona

Today’s arrival of the AIDAsol marked the official opening of the landside power plant in Altona. In addition to Olaf Scholz, Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Jens Meier, Chairman of the Management Board HPA, Dr. Monika Griefahn, Director for Environment and Society AIDA Cruises, and Michael Westhagemann, CEO of the Siemens AG Region Hanse and Chairman of the Cluster Renewable Energy Hamburg, Federal Environmental Minister Dr. Barbara Hendricks and Andreas Boschen, HEAD of INEA CEF (Connecting
Europe Facility) also attended the event.

Since the number of vessels calling into Hamburg steadily increases, the Senate and the Parliament instructed the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) during the past legislative period to build a landside power plant at the cruise ship terminal Altona and to establish the infrastructure for the shoreside power supply for cruise ships through an LNG Power Barge at the cruise ship terminal HafenCity.

The construction of the landside power plant in Altona is also part of the smartPORT energy initiative, which was started in 2012 by the HPA together with the then Ministry for Urban Development and the Environment (BSU) as well as the Ministry for Economics, Traffic and Innovation (BWVI). The declared objective is the energetic realignment of the Port of Hamburg.

The dimensioning of the landside power plant in Altona, which was built by Siemens on behalf of the HPA, is unique in Europe and an additional steptowards making Hamburg one of the most attractive and environmentfriendly cruise ship locations in Europe.

The European Union as well as the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction and Nuclear Safety have acknowledged this and are supporting the construction of an alternative energy supply for cruise ships in the Port of Hamburg with 3.5 and 3.7 million Euros, respectively. The construction of the landside power plant costs about 10 million Euros. “The shore-side power supply for cruise ships supports the sustainability of the Port of Hamburg. It contributes to the reduction of vessel emissions. This pilot project shows us how we can provide other vessels with clean energy in the future,” says Mayor Olaf Scholz.

“We are proud to open this landside power plant today, whose dimensioning is unique in Europe. We were able to conduct successful load tests of the plant on full load as early as in December 2015. Now, the first practical test with the AIDAsol is done. Thanks to the automated supply system, it will only take minutes for the external power supply to be up and running and for the cruise ships to be able to shut down almost all their engines during their time in Altona. This does not only reduce the emission of air pollutants such as nitrogen and sulphur oxides as well as fine dust and carbon dioxide but also decreases the noise emission. This is a big advantage for the residents who live near the Cruise Center Altona, but also for the
crew and passengers,” says Jens Meier, Chairman of the Management
Board HPA.

“AIDA Cruises is prepared for all available possibilities when it comes to low-emission energy supply in the port. We are very happy that the AIDAsol is the first cruise ship to be supplied with power from the landside power plant in Altona. This is an important contribution to the development of a low-emission shipping infrastructure and, in addition to the use of LNG, it is also another important alternative to further reduce the emissions during the ship’s time in the port,” says Dr. Monika Griefahn, Director for Environment and Society AIDA Cruises.

“We are very happy that we were able to support Hamburg as a technology partner in this important step towards more air purity in the port. Most of all, I am pleased that we were able to create a solution that follows international technical standards and is suitable for all common on-board systems and vessel sizes. It would be welcome if other port cities would follow this example,” says Michael Westhagemann, CEO of the Siemens AG Region Hanse and Chairman of the Cluster Renewable Energy Hamburg.

Technical Details:
The power plant Altona consists of a converter station, electrical lines and a cable canal for the power chain on the quay facility as well as a mobile transfer facility.

The converter station transforms the current of 10kv/50Hz from the public power grid into the voltage of 11kv/60Hz necessary for cruise ships. Four transformers and a frequency converter were built into the converter station. The landside power will obtain electrical energy from renewable sources.

Electrical input voltage / frequency: 10kv / 50Hz
Electrical output voltage / frequency:

- 11 kV/60 Hz and 6,6 kV/60 Hz
- 10 kV/50 Hz and 6 kV/50 Hz
Maximum Performance: 12 MVA (megavolt ampere)