Cruise ships to get on-shore power supply
The planned terminal for cruise liners at Kai Tak will be one of just a few in the world to offer on-shore power supply to ships - an environmentally friendly alternative to keeping the vessels' engines running.
'Previously when a cruise liner anchored at a terminal, its electricity generator had to keep running, so there would be some emissions [of pollutants such as] carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide,' CLP Power director Paul Poon Wai-yin said yesterday after the topping-out ceremony for the first electricity substation at the Kai Tak site.
'But with the on-shore supply system, liners get electricity on shore and can switch off the generators so that there will be no emissions ... in the city centre,' he said.
Cruise liners mainly used diesel to generate electricity, Mr Poon said, while the power company used more environmentally friendly resources - apart from coal - such as natural gas and nuclear power.
Another advantage of the on-shore system was its reliability.
Five power substations will be built at Kai Tak. Apart from the cruise terminal, the facilities will also supply energy to nearby government offices, the Sha Tin-to-Central MTR link, the district cooling system, and residential and commercial projects.
The first substation is expected to be commissioned in mid-2012.
