Plugging Cruise Ships Into Shore Power Is No Small Feat

Plugging Cruise Ships Into Shore Power Is No Small Feat

Plugging Cruise Ships Into Shore Power Is No Small Feat Our Electrifying World is a series about how electrification is creating a more sustainable energy transition. It is sponsored by Rewiring America. O n a brisk February morning in Miami, Matthew Creswell watched as engineers wrestled thick power cables at a cruise ship terminal. The ship was about to plug into the electrical grid — an event far less ordinary than it sounds. As the harbormaster of Juneau, Alaska, Creswell was there to study the Port of Miami’s $125 million shore power project through an American Association of Port Authorities program. He hoped that what he learned would shape Juneau’s own electrification plans. “In our homes and our daily lives, we plug things in and power works,” he says. “Plugging a cruise ship in is like essentially adding a small town to your electrical grid for a few hours in the day.”  The NCL Bliss plugging into shore power at Bell Harbor Cruise Terminal. Courtesy of the Port of Seattle Smaller v…