Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Christopher O. Ward, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith Enck, New York Power Authority President and CEO Richard M. Kessel, Princess Cruises and Cunard Line today announced a partnership to introduce shore power, which will allow cruise ships to turn off their engines and plug into the City’s electrical grid while in port, at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. The partnership will bring first-of-its-kind green port technology to New York City and bring the City closer to achieving the goals set in PlaNYC – to substantially reduce fossil fuel emissions and give New York City the best air quality of any major city in the nation by the year 2030.

“Enabling cruise ships to draw energy from the City’s electrical grid instead of idling and burning diesel fuel is a terrific example of how economic and environmental goals can be achieved together,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “By bringing the first cruise ship shore power operation on the East Coast to Red Hook, we’ll lower fossil fuel emissions and improve air quality for local residents – all while keeping our waterfront working and our tourism numbers growing.”

Cruise ships typically berth for up to eleven hours loading and unloading passengers and supplies. While docked, a ship’s power is supplied by auxiliary engines on board the vessel, which are typically powered by high-sulfur diesel fuel. By using shore power, sometimes known as cold ironing, three ships calling at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal – Queen Mary 2, Caribbean Princess and Emerald Princess – will have the ability to connect to the electric grid and turn off their engines, resulting in the near elimination of 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide, 95 tons of nitrous oxide, and 6.5 tons of particulate matter annually.

The project includes over $15 million in onshore infrastructure, funded with about $12 million from the Port Authority and a nearly $3 million grant from the US EPA. Carnival Cruise Lines will spend up to $4 million to retrofit the two Carnival Cruise Lines ships that dock at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Under an agreement reached by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the City and New York Power Authority (NYPA) will provide NYPA electricity to Carnival at a fixed and discounted rate for a period of five years, which is valued at roughly $2 million per year. Approximately 40 ship calls per year will use shore power. Construction of the on-shore infrastructure will begin mid-2011 and is expected to be complete in 2012. Additionally, beginning in 2012, Carnival Cruise Lines will be required to use progressively lower-sulfur fuel for its ships, further reducing the relative cost of shore power.

The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and managed by New York City Economic Development Corporation.