Cold ironing comes to Brooklyn

Cold ironing comes to Brooklyn    Cruise ships will produce less pollution when docked at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal after next year by being able to turn off their engines and rely on electricity generated ashore.
   Government officials led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and representatives of Cunard Line and Princess Cruises said Thursday that work will begin on building infrastructure that will allow ships to use shore power.
   California has passed pollution regulations that will result in widespread use of shore power by 2014 by not only cruise ships, but also container and reefer ships.
   There is no plan to implement a shore power program for cargo ships said a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
   Three ships calling at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal — Queen Mary 2, Caribbean Princess and Emerald Princess — will be able to connect to the electric grid and turn off their engines.
   The project includes more than $15 million in onshore infrastructure, funded with about $12 million from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a nearly $3 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Princess and Cunard will spend up to $4 million to retrofit ships that dock at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. The city and New York Power Authority will provide electricity at a fixed, discounted rate for five years. About 40 ship calls per year will use shore power.