In China, Tencent News reports in Yichang, China, officials announced that the city has supplied 50.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to 48,000 docked vessels across 69 terminals—via 172 newly installed shore power units—since launching its “Electrify the Yangtze” strategy, replacing 11,700 tons of diesel and cutting 37,000 tons of carbon emissions.
“In the past, when ships docked, the diesel generators were deafening, and the terminal display boards were covered in oily soot,” said Li Xingheng, shore power operations lead at State Grid Yichang. Now vessels plug in quietly, part of a full conversion to shore power along Yichang’s Yangtze stretch.
On land, Yichang’s shipbuilding industry is transitioning too. The battery-powered cruise ship Yangtze Three Gorges 1—carrying 800 tourists with 7,500 kWh of onboard capacity—has already begun operations. Other electric and hybrid ships, including China’s first hydrogen-powered government vessel, have launched. Huaxing Shipbuilding reported over ¥400 million in new orders for 2025.
Inside the Zigui Green Shipyard Industrial Park, Yichang now operates a ship battery line capable of producing 200,000 kWh annually. The city forecasts ¥50 billion in total green ship output by 2026.
“‘Electrifying the Yangtze is not just about replacing energy sources; it is an industrial transformation,” said a Yichang Development and Reform Commission official.
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Category: Sustainable Marine Fuels
