CentrePort – it’s electrifying
CentrePort is having an electric makeover designed to reduce its carbon footprint and boost productivity.
Six yellow and black straddle lifts will be replaced by an electric alternative on the way from French manufacturer Gaussin.
And the diesel-run truck and trailers, called transfer vehicles, will also be thrown in for seven electric ones – a first for any New Zealand port.
CentrePort general manager
Mark Thompson said the environmentally-driven decision would reduce carbon by about 250 tonnes per annum and speed up transfers by about 20 per cent.
That time saving would go a long way with the more than 100,000 containers handled on-site each year, he added.
‘‘Certainly, it makes us more attractive. If they [shipping companies] are considering us against another port and we are efficient, that will certainly view us in favour,’’ Thompson said.
‘‘Upgrading to electric has a premium to it but the payback is there. Sustainability is clearly our goal.’’
The cost of going 100 per cent electric and the calculated savings were commercially sensitive, he said.
On top of the physical equipment, the port planned to install LED lighting and solar panels to juice up its new fleet.
Was he concerned about sunshine hours? No, solar technologies had come a long way. Besides, Wellington was a lot sunnier than people believed, he said.
The transfer vehicles will operate via a lithium metal polymer battery which has an eightyear life cycle, 12 hours of pulling capacity and can be swapped out for fully-charged batteries without affecting operation.
‘‘There are cost benefits as well with reduced maintenance expenditure required for the electric vehicles,’’ Thompson said.
The port’s setup for container transfers was disrupted by the 2016 Kaiko¯ura earthquake. Uneven ground put four of the straddles out of action and has affected operations since.
The equipment will arrive in late May and be operational by July. The diesel-run straddle lifts will be sold on through the global shipping market.