Cruise ships plug in to cut pollution

subscribe

Cruise ships docking in Vancouver, a popular hub for tourists bound for Alaska, can now plug into the city's electricity grid — cutting their engines and their diesel air emissions.

Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's biggest port, unveiled a shore power facility for cruise ships while in harbor, a first in Canada and only the third of its kind in the world.

Cruise ships can now plug into the electrical grid of the provincial utility, BC Hydro, which says that its mostly hydroelectric-generated power is 90 percent nonpolluting.

"This project will significantly improve local air quality by reducing air emissions from cruise ships in downtown Vancouver throughout the cruise ship season," said Andrew Saxton, a member of Parliament for North Vancouver.

Long-term exposure to diesel engine exhaust likely causes lung cancer in humans and can trigger other lung and respiratory ailments, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Princess Cruises and Holland America Line have outfitted several of their fleet with onboard shore power equipment. Four Princess ships and one Holland America ship will use shore power in Vancouver during the 2009 Alaska season, which runs from May to September.

Related News

solar power

States have big hopes for renewable energy. Get ready to pay for it.

ALBANY - A generational push to tackle climate change in New York is quickly becoming a pocketbook issue headed into 2024.

Some upstate New York electric customers are already paying 10 percent of their utility bill to support the state’s effort to move off fossil fuels and into renewable energy. In the coming years, people across the state can expect to give up even bigger chunks of their income to the programs — $48 billion in projects is set to be funded by consumers over the next two decades.

The scenario is creating a headache for New York Democrats grappling with the…

READ MORE
cannes-film-festival-power-outage-under-investigation

Cannes Film Festival Power Outage Under Investigation 

READ MORE

electric vehicles

Coronavirus puts electric carmakers on alert over lithium supplies

READ MORE

atco electric

ATCO Electric agrees to $31 million penalty following regulator's investigation

READ MORE

solar panel on roof of home

High Natural Gas Prices Make This The Time To Build Back Better - With Clean Electricity

READ MORE