Greg D’Avignon and Denise Mullen: Ports along the West Coast are expanding their LNG bunkering infrastructure

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The continuing rise in greenhouse gas emissions in BC is an enigma. Despite good intentions, transport emissions now account for 42 percent of the total and are still rising. An obvious solution is fuel switching, where it makes sense.

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The maritime sector is a logical area of ​​opportunity. For BC, the Tilbury Marine Jetty (now in the final stages of environmental review) and the expansion of Fortis BC’s Tilbury LNG facility could displace marine diesel and bunker fuels on ships calling in BC waters. These two projects could reduce GHG emissions by up to 1.2 million tons per year, nearly the equivalent of 30% of all new light-duty passenger vehicle sales in British Columbia being zero-emissions, which would reduce GHG emissions at an estimated 1.3 million tons per year.

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Meeting BC’s emissions reduction goals will require a multitude of incremental steps from all of us. Enabling LNG marine bunkering through just these two projects, which are funded through private sector investment, will bring us more than four percent closer to BC’s total emissions reduction goal for 2030, which is a 40 percent below 2007 GHG emission levels.

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Ninety percent of all goods moved around the world travel on ocean-going vessels that use diesel fuels and marine fuels. Global cargo volume is expected to triple by 2050, resulting in increased emissions from the movement of goods. But strict international shipping regulations have created a shift to liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative. In response, ports along the West Coast of North America and beyond are expanding their LNG bunkering infrastructure.

DNV, the world’s largest shipping classification society, predicts that by 2030 LNG will account for 37 percent of the energy consumed on board ships. As of May 2022, there were 805 orders for new LNG-powered vessels. To support this growth, new LNG infrastructure is required.

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BC LNG can meet some of this demand and creates much-needed economic activity. We must not waste it.

LNG is an important fuel of the future. BC’s natural gas (and therefore LNG) also appears to be a lower GHG intensity resource compared to LNG supplied elsewhere in the world, as verified by independent third parties. This means that BC LNG can play a positive role in helping to manage total global emissions and local air pollutants.

But BC missed an opportunity in November 2020 when the Port of Vancouver welcomed NYK’s Sakura Leader, a new generation of vessels with a modern hull design and dual-fuel engines that can run on both LNG and traditional fuels. Unfortunately, the lack of LNG bunkering infrastructure on the Lower Mainland meant that the Sakura Leader was unable to refuel with LNG for her return voyage from the Port of Vancouver.

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The Port of Long Beach in California has recognized the opportunity of alternative marine fuels for shipping. Last month, the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation of a container ship took place there. The Port of Tacoma, just south of Vancouver, is also building infrastructure to enable LNG marine bunkering and the use of BC natural gas.

BC doesn’t need to be left behind. A partnership between Fortis affiliates and Seaspan ULC is proposing the infrastructure needed to facilitate the refueling of ships like the Sakura Leader with LNG. The Tilbury Marine Jetty in Delta will also produce beneficial results for local indigenous groups, a result consistent with recent research by the MacDonald Laurier Institute, where 65 percent of indigenous communities in Canada support natural resource development and want to be partners in projects like the one currently under review.

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The Tilbury Marine Jetty is an opportunity for BC to meet indigenous aspirations for economic development, address a vital infrastructure challenge in the LNG supply chain on Canada’s west coast, and contribute to the management of global GHG emissions.

The Fortis proposal supports all of these goals. Without it, the new generation of lower-emission LNG-powered ships used around the world will call at ports that offer LNG bunkering services, resulting in lost economic benefits for everyone in the world. British Columbia. This infrastructure is necessary today.

Amid the global shift to lower GHG-intensive fuels for the transportation of people and goods, it is essential that the Port of Vancouver’s marine vessel operators have both the infrastructure and options to switch to LNG. The Tilbury Marine Jetty is an opportunity, today, to support the development of a cleaner global marine industry. The final stage of the project’s environmental assessment is ending soon. We should say yes to cleaner shipping fuel.

Greg D’Avignon is President and CEO of the Business Council of BC; Denise Mullen is the council’s Director of Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Relations.