Cold Ironing: Socio-Economic Analysis in the Port of Genoa

Background: The emissions of ships in ports are increasingly becoming an issue, and particularly those of NOx, SOx, and PM, rather than CO2. One realistic solution for reducing GHG emissions is cold ironing technology. This paper highlights the socio-economic impact of increasing utilization of cold ironing in the port of Genoa, quantifying the achievable emissions reductions and estimating the effects over a defined time horizon. Methods: This research employs an interdisciplinary approach and uses quantitative data with a bottom-up approach for data collection. For the quantification of health costs, reference was made to the CAFE program, which defines a calculation method to estimate the external costs generated by polluting agents such as NH3, NOx, SO2, VOCs, and PM2.5. Results: Analysis of results shows the significant importance of relying on cold ironing and the importance of renewable port generation. Health cost savings using cold ironing and a different mix of generations are calculated, and these results strongly signal the importance of cold ironing. Conclusions: Cold ironing is indeed an effective anti-pollution measure. Its use to reduce polluting emissions is to be strongly recommended. Investments are cost-effective versus health costs and are sustainable by all parties.