Green shipping in emission controlled areas: Combining smart grids and cold ironing

Worldwide concern about air quality and global warming has led to emission regulations for the shipping industry and Emission Control Areas (ECAs) including the areas around ports. An appealing alternative to reduce the level of pollution from ships when docked in ports is connecting to shore-side electrical power, known as Cold Ironing. Cold Ironing has the potential to make use of zero emissions electrical generation technology from renewable sources to supply clean electrical power to docked ships. Furthermore, the ports can be considered key customers from the National Grid point of view.