Final Phase of the Quay Electrification Programme

Begun in 2021, the electrification operations on Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port’s quays will be completed in the spring, with the installation of the last fittings on the pontoons in the outer harbour in Saint Nazaire. The objective is to reduce CO2 emissions. Here is an overview of the work carried out in Saint-Nazaire and at Donges.

In Saint Nazaire, the first electrification work was carried out on the Quai des Darses and Quai des Charbonniers quays, between March and October 2022. The work served to regenerate the power point network on these two quays, to increase the level of service so as to offer the facilities required for existing industrial activities, and to assist in decarbonizing port-related activities. The work consisted in installing a 1-megawatt (MW) transformer plant permitting the distribution of networks of high- and low-voltage power points along the quays, and thereby avoiding the need to employ generator sets.

In the outer harbour, a similar operation is nearing completion on the two pontoons used by port and maritime services units such as hydrographical survey craft, tugboats, coastguard vessels, or the units of the Departmental Fire and Emergency Service, of the National Lifeboat Service or of the Departmental Directorate for Territorial and Marine Resources.

At Donges, a pontoon designed to be used by different types of vessels, including inshore pilot craft and tugboats, was electrified in 2021 and 2022. The equipment comprises the installation of three electrical switch boxes fitted with several 16- to 125-amp power points delivering between 3 and 69 kilovolt-amperes (kVA) of power.

These operations are part of the "electrification and energy performance of port-related activities" programme included in the Economic Recovery Plan (Amendment N° 4 to the 2015-2020 Central Government − Regional Government Planning Agreement), which helps to improve energy performance, to reduce the ecological footprint of port-related activities, and to support new sectors of activity. They represent an investment of 1.5 million euros, co-financed by Central Government, the Regional Authority, the Departmental Authority, Saint Nazaire Urban Area District Authority and Nantes ‒ Saint Nazaire Port.