Falmouth’s port will become the UK’s first fully flexible zero-carbon shore power hub, letting docked vessels plug into clean electricity instead of running their diesel generators. Ships at berth currently burn fuel to power lights, pumps, and onboard systems, pumping out local air pollution and noise. This project installs a new power network across the A&P Falmouth site that can supply carbon-free electricity to a wide mix of vessels—Ministry of Defence ships in for repair, cruise liners, commercial vessels, and the emerging floating offshore wind (FLOW) sector. The aim is to slash emissions and noise while ships are stationary. If successful, the system will cut local pollutants in Falmouth and Cornwall, helping the region’s 2030 carbon-neutral target. More broadly, the flexible design is meant to be replicable: A&P Group plans to roll out similar shore power at its other UK dockyards, and the project partners expect the model to transfer to ports, harbours, and dockyards across the UK and beyond. This is applied industrial research with a clear, near-term deployment goal—not fundamental science—and its impact will be measured in tonnes of CO₂ and decibels avoided.
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**Falmouth: Atlantic & Peninsula clean shore power future** is an industrial research project to provide the UK's first fully flexible zero carbon shore power port -- offering a low carbon power supply to a wide range of vessels and for emerging FLOW technology (alongside commissioning). Significantly reducing the local and global impact of shipping emissions whilst docked at A & P Falmouth. The use of clean shore power at A & P Falmouth will have a significant impact on local emissions produced by on-board or shore-based generators and will also mean a reduction in the noise levels that this equipment creates. A new power system across the port will allow carbon zero connection to a variety of vessels at different locations around the A & P Falmouth site. These include a range of Ministry of Defence (MOD) vessels during their refit and repair periods, our developing floating offshore wind sector and port users such as our expanding cruise market and other commercial vessels. The project lead is A&P Falmouth part of A&P Group, the largest commercial ship repair and conversion specialist in the UK. A&P Falmouth is a centre of excellence for MOD vessels, ferries, mobilisation, and demobilisation works, jack-ups, pontoons and tankers. A&P Falmouth is also a busy working port, handling over 100,000 T of product annually. Falmouth Docks & Engineering Company, also wholly owned by A&P Group is the Statutory Port Authority in control of the port facilities. Project partners are Marine Zero, specialists in engineering design for sustainable technologies including shore power design and specification. Our project has support from vessel operators including the MOD, Fred Olsen Cruises, floating offshore wind (FLOW) developers Twinhub and Morwind as well as the wider FLOW industry through Celtic Sea Power. We are also supported by Cornwall Council and Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership through the Enterprise Zone and whose ambition is to be carbon neutral by 2030 (letter of support for ZEVI received). We recognise that the maritime sector and wider industry contributes to Cornwall's overall carbon emissions, we need to act with ambition now to address the net zero gap. As well as the impact for Falmouth and Cornwall, the solutions developed by this project will allow deployment of similar solutions within the multiple locations of the A & P Group within the UK and many other ports, harbours and dockyards around the UK and beyond.
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