Technical analysis and economic evaluation of a complex shore-to-ship power supply system

•Shore-side power system to reduce air pollution produced by diesel generators of ships in port.•An on-shore power source consisting of a cogenerator to supply ships at berth has been studied.•A numerical model is used to investigate the energy balance of the power supply chain.•The case study of Ancona’s port demonstrates the technical and economic feasibility. In port areas, with the progressive increase in maritime traffic, the problem of pollution is crucial especially when the port is near to an urban area. The cold ironing allows a reduction of pollutants satisfying the power demand of ships while they are at berth, replacing on board diesel engines. In this paper, the methodology of analysis of the electrical loads required by ships concerns the typical week of each month over a one year period. The power is provided by a cogeneration plant powered by natural gas. It is flanked by a Compressed Air Energy Storage system since the energy demand is linked to the presence of ships in port and so very variable over time. The heat waste is recovered in a heating district network for overall optimization. At last, the economical aspect has been evaluated to prove the feasibility of the whole system. The results, for the case of the port of Ancona, show that a 1.5 MW and 2 MW cogenerator covers the 83.05% and 92.5% of the electrical need of ships respectively, and the 61% and 74% of the thermal need of buildings over the period analysed. The coverage of the CAES system is not influenced by the rated power.