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The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has said that it has received 28 terminal plans from ports in California to install shore power systems.

Facilities located at the ports of Hueneme, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco all sent plans to ARB, indicating that they all intend to install grid-based shore power systems.

"In addition, three terminals will receive visits from fleets using alternative control technologies, " ARB said.

A number of Californian ports have already taken steps to install shoreside power. Also known as "cold ironing", shoreside power allows ships to shut down their auxiliary engines while docked and plug into landside electricity, which nearly eliminates air pollution from ships at berth. Typically, ships use diesel engines to power on-board equipment such as computers, elevators and air conditioning.

Earlier this year the Port of Long Beach began construction on its fourth "shore power" dock, to allow more ships to plug in to clean electricity and decrease pollution.

Last year International Transportation Service, Inc. (ITS) on Pier G became the first container terminal at the port outfitted with shore power and during the summer the BP Terminal on Pier T went electric, to become the first oil tanker terminal equipped with shore power in the world.

Meanwhile, cement carriers at Mitsubishi Cement Corporation's terminal at Pier F have been plugging into landside electricity since 2005. Vessels calling at the Mitsubishi berth spend an average of 75 percent of their time plugged in to shore power, significantly reducing air pollution.

At the port of Los Angeles, Yusen Terminals Inc. (YTI) has worked in partnershp with the port to install alternative maritime power in order to virtually eliminate ship emissions at berth.

Meanwhile, the port of Oakland is set to become the latest in the state of California to install shore-based electrical power after it was announced in May 2009 that the ARB will receive $161 million in funds to invest in reducing emissions, which will be partly used to install shore-based electrical power for two ship berths in Oakland.