Port of Tyne cuts carbon by 700 tonnes in 12 months

Port of Tyne has announced hitting the latest milestone within its ongoing decarbonisation and clean energy strategy.

After completing a detailed modelling exercise and long-term analysis of its electricity network, the port has reduced its diesel consumption by 260,000 litres and eliminated 700 tonnes of CO2 emissions — enough to power more than 80 UK homes for a year.

Port of Tyne is one of the UK’s major deep-sea ports operating in offshore, bulks, break bulk, rail-freight, automotive, cruise and ferry, logistics, and estates. Its innovative and award-winning asset electrification programme involves converting its legacy materials handling assets from diesel to low-carbon electricity.

One initiative has been to invest in a new fleet of electric vehicles, install LED lighting in every building and asset, and implement smart energy monitoring meters. A team is also evaluating the potential for installing solar panels on warehouse buildings. The switch to LED lighting alone across the port’s estate has saved over 2.5 million kWh of energy.

The ambitious programme process is in line with Tyne 2050’s net zero roadmaps for Port of Tyne to become carbon neutral by 2030, and an all-electric port by 2040.

Matt Beeton, CEO at the Port of Tyne, said: “We welcome the government’s allocation of £20 million to help the maritime sector adopt clean energy and have made significant progress in this direction.

“To date, we have invested £2 million into clean energy projects, cut emissions to improve local air quality, and launched a new clean energy business park for the renewable energy supply chain.”

As further evidence of its commitment to becoming a clean energy enterprise and innovation hub, Port of Tyne has also launched Tyne Clean Energy Park to provide a convenient and versatile strategic base for the north east’s rapidly growing renewable energy sector.

Matt Beeton added: “All our clean energy investments reduce carbon consumption and lower our costs. Going forward, we will be allocating up to 30% of our annual capex for more net zero improvements as we continue to prioritise green innovation and sustainability.”

In November 2020, Port of Tyne won two Clean Energy Awards at the Maritime UK 2020 Awards in the Clean Energy Operator and Clean Energy Enabler categories.

Once the programme is completed, Port of Tyne will be the first UK port to have successfully converted an existing diesel powered Liebherr mobile harbour crane to be fully electric. Existing diesel powered Drax Hoppers, used for bulk materials handling, are also being electrified.