The electrification of the Port of Barcelona is starting to yield results. The Hutchison Ports Best terminal, where most emissions are generated, has for the first time powered a container ship, which allowed it to turn off its engines while docked and stop emitting emissions. "It represents a key step forward in the decarbonization of port activity. As of today, we are already effectively eliminating emissions generated by ship engines, a process that will only multiply," states the president of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó.
This milestone has been reached after the installation of the electrical supply system was completed during the month of August, which is responsible for transforming the energy that arrives from the electrical substation to the power required by each ship, taking into account that the required voltage varies depending on whether it is a container ship, a cruise ship, or a ferry. This element, with an investment of almost five million euros, has also been custom-designed to avoid interfering with the usual container loading and unloading operations.
The new system, known as Onshore Power Supply (OPS), has been inaugurated by supplying 100% renewable energy to the MSC Mette. This is a vessel with a capacity for 24,000 TEU ---one TEU is equivalent to the cargo capacity of a 20-foot long container---. According to the port, despite being executed for the first time, the connection and supply process has been a complete success and has been carried out without problems. For three days, the OPS supplied it with a total of 103,200 kWh.
With the incorporation of this ship plug, the Best container terminal, immersed in an expansion process to reach 90 hectares, has become the first in the Mediterranean to use this technology. It was on the verge of leading the European port system, but the port of Hamburg got ahead of it. The terminal expects to serve almost a hundred container ships in the next two years. This figure represents 3% of the total ships received each year, between 1,400 and 1,500. After the pilot phase, from the third year onwards, the company expects to be able to expand annual connections.
In the coming years, other port plugs will arrive, framed within a long-term project by the Port of Barcelona to electrify all its docks. A total of 200 million euros is expected to be invested to stop burning fuel and thus reduce the environmental impact of the infrastructure. By 2030, all cruise ship berths, the Prat Dock, and the ferry terminals are expected to be electrified. From 2030 onwards, electrification will expand to other areas, such as the Energy Dock or the APM terminal.
The plan to electrify the docks begins with pilot tests that will serve to understand the electrical demand of ships, as well as to test the technology that will later be extended throughout the infrastructure. In addition to the Best terminal, at the end of the year, the second test will come, at the ferry terminal, the closest to the urban area. Also key will be the new electrical substation on the Ronda Litoral by Red Eléctrica, with a capacity of 220 kV. In this infrastructure, located very close to the Príncipe de España Dock, the port will be one of the main consumers, with a demand of 80 MW.