Shore power or shore supply is the provision of shoreside electrical power to a ship at berth while its main and auxiliary engines are shut down.
Article: Cold-Iron the Ships by Capt. Pawanexh Kohli While the term denotes

shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water pas ...

as opposed to off-shore, it is sometimes applied to aircraft or land-based vehicles (such as campers, heavy trucks with sleeping compartments and tour buses), which may plug into

grid power Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to ...

when parked for idle reduction. The source for land-based power may be grid power from an electric utility company, but also possibly an external remote generator. These generators may be powered by diesel or renewable energy sources such as wind or solar. Shore power saves consumption of fuel that would otherwise be used to power vessels while in port, and eliminates the air pollution associated with consumption of that fuel. A port city may have anti-idling laws that require ships to use shore power. Use of shore power may facilitate maintenance of the ship's engines and generators, and reduces noise.

Oceangoing ships

" Cold ironing" is specifically a

shipping industry Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people ( passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...

term that came into use when all ships had

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed wh ...

-fired engines. When a ship tied up at port, there was no need to continue to feed the fire and the iron engines would cool down, eventually going completely cold – hence the term "cold ironing". Commercial ships can use shore-supplied power for services such as cargo handling, pumping, ventilation and lighting while in port, they need not run their own diesel engines, reducing air pollution emissions. Examples are ferries and cruise ships for hotel electric power, and a salmon feeder ship uses shore power while at the salmon farm.

Small craft

On small private boats, electrical power supply on board is usually provided by 12 or 24 Volt DC batteries whilst at sea unless the vessel has a generator. When the vessel is berthed in a marina or harbourside mains electricity is often offered via a shore power connection. This allows the vessel to use a battery charger to recharge batteries and also to run mains-powered AC devices such as TV, washing machine, cooking appliances and air conditioning. The power is usually provided from a power pedestal on the dock which is often metered or has a card payment system if electricity is not provided free of charge. The vessel connects to the supply using a suitable shore power cable.

Trucks

Shore power, as it relates to the trucking industry, is commonly referred to as "Truck Stop Electrification" (TSE). The US

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...

estimates that trucks plugging in versus idling on diesel fuel could save as much as $3240 annually. 090916 afdc.energy.gov There are currently 138 truck stops 090916 afdc.energy.gov in the USA that offer on-board systems (also called Shore power) or off-board systems (also called single system electrification) for an hourly fee.

Auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...

s offer another alternative to both idling and shore power for trucks.

Aircraft

Similar to shore power for ships, a ground power unit (GPU) may be used to supply electric power for an aircraft on the ground, to sustain interior lighting, ventilation and other requirements before starting of the main engines or the aircraft

auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...

(APU). It is also used by aircraft with APUs if the airport authority does not permit the usage of APUs at its docks or if the carrier wishes to save on the use of jet fuel (which APUs use). This may be a self-contained engine-generator set, or it may convert commercial power to the voltage and frequency needed for the aircraft (for example 115 V 400 Hz).

Trains and buses

Shorepower may be a grid connection for

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

s laying over between runs. Similarly

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ch ...

es may be connected when not in use.

References