On Monday at Dongyuan Wharf in Tongling, Anhui province, Zhu Rongguo and Huang Enhua, two staff members from State Grid Tongling Power Supply Company connected a cable from the ship Xinyueyun to the charging station on the shore. Captain Ran Hailong opened the Shore Power Station app on his smartphone and within seconds, after completing a quick online recharge payment, the ship was successfully powered up.

For Ran, a person who has been used to working offshore for many years, the conveniences of life on land are something he greatly envies. Now, with the emergence of high-tech electrical services in ports such as human-machine interaction, card-payment for power, and real-time settlement, he was surprised to find that he could enjoy the conveniences that those on land are used to while he is stationed at the port.

Those changes are a result of the vigorous development of green shipping in the Yangtze River basin in recent years. As early as 2017, the Tongling section of the Yangtze River initiated the transformation of port shore power. In 2019, it became the first in the province to achieve full coverage of shore power in the Tongling section’s 24 ports. A total of 65 shore power facilities have been built, which are providing services to ships around 5,000 times per year. And the number is steadily increasing.

Data released by the Tongling maritime service center shows that in 2021, the electricity consumption of Tongling Port's shore power reached 95,010 kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 558 percent, equivalent to a reduction in fuel consumption of about 53 metric tons and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of about 166.58 tons. In the first quarter of 2024, Tongling Port's shore power consumption reached 52,396 kWh, a 43 percent increase from the same period last year, equivalent to a reduction in fuel consumption of about 29.23 tons and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of about 91.86 tons.

To facilitate the use of shore power on ships and achieve "zero fuel consumption" for ships in port, State Grid Tongling Power Supply Company cooperated with the local government, port authorities and ships to establish a four-party green transport and Yangtze River environmental protection cooperation alliance. By integrating the strengths of transportation, environmental protection, industry and information technology, maritime affairs, and power supply departments, it has been actively promoting port shore power construction and realized functions such as online monitoring, remote control, automatic statistics, intelligent operation and maintenance, and information sharing for port and ship shore power. Their efforts have enhanced the efficiency of regulatory services and ensured the usage of shore power by ships in ports.

Currently, in the port where Ran is located, convenient and efficient shore power operation services have benefited many ship owners in the Yangtze River basin. In Anhui province, more than 100 docks are using intelligent shared shore power devices.

Green shore power not only serves countless homes along the Yangtze River, but also lays the foundation for the sustainable development of the Yangtze River shipping industry.