Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current shore power capacity at ports in the UK; and what will be the percentage expansion of capacity required by 2050 to achieve their net zero targets.

The Government continues to work with the sector on opportunities to deploy additional shore power and other infrastructure. The Government is considering shore power within the wider context of net zero ports and will launch a call for evidence in due course. This will gather further information on future electricity grid capacity needs to support additional infrastructure, including shore power.

On 11 September, the government announced £29.5m of R&D funding for shore power projects at the Port of Aberdeen, Atlantic and Peninsula’s Falmouth Port and Portsmouth International Port under the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition. These projects will help to reduce emissions at these locations in the short term and will also provide valuable evidence over the multi-year demonstration period to inform future policy and regulation.