A Review of the Conceptualization and Operational Management of Seaport Microgrids on the Shore and Seaside

Seaports are well known as the medium that has evolved into the central link between sea and land for complex marine activities. The growth in maritime logistics particularly necessitates a large volume of energy supply in order to maintain the operation of sea trade, resulting in an imbalance between generation and demand sides. Future projections for three major concerns show an increase in load demand, cost of operation, and environmental issues. In order to overcome these problems, integrating microgrids as an innovative technology in the seaport power system appears to be a vital strategy. It is believed that microgrids enhance seaport operation by providing sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective energy. Although microgrids are well established and widely used in a variety of operations on land, their incorporation into the seaport is still limited. The involvement of a variety of heavy loads such as all-electric ships, cranes, cold ironing, and buildings infrastructure renders it a complicated arrangement task in several aspects, which necessitates further research and leaves space for improvement. In this paper, an overview of the seaport microgrids in terms of their concepts and operation management is presented. It provides the perspectives for integrating the microgrid concept into a seaport from both shore side and seaside as a smart initiative for the green port’s vision. Future research directions are discussed towards the development of a more efficient marine power system.