Climate and environmentally friendly energy supply along the waterway
Inland navigation on the international Danube waterway is of essential economic importance. Modern energy management will further optimise the environmental balance of inland navigation in the future. The expansion of shore power facilities for idle cargo and passenger vessels at mooring places in Austria will make an important contribution to this.
Shore power supply - economical and sustainable
At shore power facilities for idle large vessels, power is supplied from powerful and specially constructed energy terminals. This means that the vessel's own diesel generator can be switched off during the mooring time to supply the vessel's infrastructure. Pollutant, noise and CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and the wear of diesel generators are thus avoided or reduced. This is particularly relevant for cruise shipping at the mooring hot spots in Engelhartszell, Linz, Wachau and Vienna. Likewise, shore power systems have been and are being set up for the winter stand-by period of several months in some ports.
Shore power facilities for freight and cruise shipping
Due to the different energy requirements of cargo and cruise vessels, the shore power facilities are adapted in each case. For example, while cargo vessels can still manage with up to 63 amperes of current and CEE plug connections for the supply of their on-board electronics, modern cruise vessels need several hundred amperes of current for their considerably higher energy requirements (e.g. for air conditioning, entertainment electronics, on-board restaurant, laundry), which is provided by power-lock systems.
Implementation strategies for cargo and cruise shipping
viadonau is dedicated to the implementation of shore power supply for idle cargo vessels at defined public mooring places. In connection with additional structural upgrading projects, in which safer mooring and access structures such as dolphins and bridges are installed, corresponding shore power facilities are also being implemented at the same time. The first systems have already been put into operation in Linz and Wildungsmauer. Further projects are planned in Vienna, Aschach and Krems an der Donau. The measures are co-financed by the EU project "FAIRway works! in the Rhine-Danube Corridor" and "FAIRway Danube 2" within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union.
Shore power facilities for cruise shipping are implemented at private and commercially used mooring places designed for the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers. The implementation is carried out by the defined shore power operators (energy supply companies) in the federal states of Upper and Lower Austria and Vienna. Coordination with the responsible actors (grid operators, electricity suppliers, shore power operators and representatives of the federal states) takes place within the framework of working group meetings. These are coordinated by viadonau. In this way, all participants can benefit from the exchange of experience and know-how. By involving Bavarian actors, cross-border aspects are to be taken into account. The measures in Upper and Lower Austria will be implemented through the already approved EU project "Electrified Danube". EU funding for the measures in Vienna was promised in June 2023. They will be co-financed within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union.
