Inaugural shore power plug-in at Terminal 5 marks key environmental milestone for The Northwest Seaport Alliance

Shore power installation is a key environmental initiative as part of the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy

The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s Terminal 5 welcomed MSC Brunella as the first vessel to plug-in to the terminal’s shore power infrastructure. On Monday, April 10th, the commissioning phase of the Terminal’s shore power project component was finalized as the nearly 9,000 TEU vessel successfully utilized clean energy from the City of Seattle’s electrical grid to power the vessel while at berth, the Northwest Seaport Alliance said.

Terminal 5 is the first international container terminal in the NWSA gateway with shore power capability, making this inaugural plug-in a significant environmental milestone in the Pacific Northwest.

Shore power infrastructure reduces diesel particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions by allowing vessels to turn off their diesel engines and ‘plug-in’ to the local power grid while being worked at the dock. Seattle City Light has been a critical collaborator throughout this project.  

Shore power installation is a key environmental initiative as part of the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, which targets the installation of shore power infrastructure on all international container terminals by 2030.  NWSA Managing Members, Commissioners of the Port of Tacoma and Port of Seattle, committed to making significant investments in installing shore power, with Husky Terminal in the South Harbor and Terminal 18 in the North Harbor as the next projects to be completed.

In addition to needing landside infrastructure at marine terminals, a ship must have special equipment installed to accept shore power. The NWSA is glad to see the cargo shipping industry increasing the number of shore power capable vessels, with more than half of the vessels that call NWSA being shore power capable. Once the infrastructure is fully installed throughout the gateway, the NWSA expects all capable ships will plug-in.

The Terminal 5 modernization program broke ground in 2019 with operations at the north berth beginning in January of 2022. Phase Two of the modernization is underway with operations in the south berth expected to start in 2024, further expanding job opportunities across the Puget Sound. At full completion, Terminal 5 will boast 185-acres of cargo capacity.