The electrification of the Port of Barcelona's docks is taking shape. Works to install the first connection point to power ships have already begun, as reported this Wednesday by the Port Authority of Barcelona (APB). It will be located at the Hutchison Ports Best terminal, on the Prat dock, in the southern area of the port, where most emissions are generated. The pilot will allow container ships to turn off their engines when docking in the port and plug into the electrical grid.
The works have started with the opening of trenches where the medium-voltage electrical grid cables will be placed, connecting the connection point with the electrical substation, whose tender for construction began last February. The installation of the connection point, known as Onshore Power Supply (OPS), is expected by the end of the year. The main task of these points is to transform the electricity arriving from the electrical substation into the power required by each ship, taking into account that the voltage varies depending on whether it is a container vessel, a cruise ship, or a ferry.
The Danish company PoweCon A/S, winner of the tender, is in charge of executing the works, with a budget of 4.9 million euros. The terminal will be the first in Southern Europe to have a system of these characteristics. The works coincide with the works Hutchison Ports Best is carrying out to expand its storage capacity by 25%, with seven new blocks for containers, which facilitates the opening of trenches to install the cabling.
This will be the first OPS that the Port of Barcelona will have and will serve to test the consumption needed by container ships, which will allow extracting information for the installation of the rest of the connection points and improving possible inefficiencies, with the forecast of having them all operational before 2030. The second pilot will be carried out at the ferry terminal, the closest to the urban area, and will allow observing the consumption required by other types of ships. Its OPS is expected to be operational by next year.
Both pilots are part of the investment of more than 110 million euros that the APB has projected to electrify its docks. About 90 million euros will be allocated to install the connection points that will allow connecting the vessels to the electricity grid, while 20 million euros will go to deploy the necessary cabling to bring electricity to the ships.
The electrification plan will reduce CO2 emissions from the port by 50% by 2030 and be climate neutral by 2050. More specifically, it is expected to have all cruise berths, Moll Prat, and ferry terminals electrified within seven years. From 2030, electrification will expand to other areas, such as Moll de la Energia or the APM terminal.