When ships dock in port, they turn off the engines they need to navigate the sea, but they start others that serve to meet the energy needs of the stationary vessel. The Port Authority of Barcelona wants to intervene at this moment to avoid burning fuel and thus reduce the environmental impact of the infrastructure, which represents 0.7% of all emissions generated in Catalonia. The solution involves electrifying the docks, making it easier for vessels to connect to the grid while they are moored.
The Port of Barcelona will invest more than 110 million euros in the electrification of the docks, a long-term project that began to be considered in early 2020 and will be visible next year, when the first ships plug into the infrastructure.
About 90 million euros will be allocated to installing connection points on the different docks to connect vessels to the electrical grid, while 20 million euros will go to deploying the necessary cabling to bring electricity to the ships. A final allocation of three million euros will include annual operation and maintenance costs for the new infrastructure. Own funds will be used to cover this investment, although the president of the Port Authority of Barcelona, Damià Calvet, has indicated that they aspire to receive European funds to finance the project.
This investment of more than 110 million euros will allow a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions from the port by 2030 and to be climate neutral by 2050, according to Calvet. Specifically, it is planned to have all cruise ship berths, Moll Prat, and ferry terminals electrified within eight years. From 2030, electrification will expand to other areas, such as Moll de la Energia or the APM terminal.
The electrification of the Port of Barcelona is a pioneering project, emphasized the head of Energy Transition, Ana Arévalo. It will be the first port in Spain to promote such a plan. The ports of Vancouver and Los Angeles are the reference for Barcelona's project, which has also been developed in some ports in China and Northern Europe.
First tests for container ships and ferries
The plan to electrify the docks will begin with two 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 entire infrastructure. The first space to be electrified will be the Best terminal, located on the Prat dock, in the southern area of the port, where most emissions are generated. The project, currently in the bidding process, will consist of installing two connection points that will plug the terminal's container ships into the electrical grid, with a start date set for the end of 2023.
Arévalo explained that the main task of these points is to transform the electricity that arrives 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 ship, a cruise ship, or a ferry. The two points that will be installed at the Best terminal will be able to power two small container ships that do not require much power or one large one.
The plan to electrify the docks will begin with two 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 entire infrastructureThe second pilot test will be carried out at the ferry terminal, the closest to the urban area.Here only one connection point will be installed, which will be able to serve a single ship of this type, which usually need less power while stopped. The pilot, still pending to be tendered, is estimated to come into operation in April 2024. The advantage of this second test is that ferries arrive and leave daily, a fact that will allow testing the system with different vessels and doing so with more recurrence.
Despite this, unlike container shipping companies, there is no ferry company that currently includes the technology that allows ships to connect to an external electrical grid. As Arévalo has remarked, they are working to get companies to make it possible, an operation that is not very complicated, but does require some investment. Precisely, the accompaniment of shipping companies in the process of electrifying the docks is one of the key aspects to make the plan possible. Calvet is very clear that they will end up adapting technologically, as already happened with the impulse given from the Catalan capital to liquefied natural gas (LNG), a priority that was shared by the companies. "The maritime sector is very clear that it has to be part of the change," he stressed. In fact, some container companies have integrated a system for plugging in since 2018.
The future Red Eléctrica substation, a fundamental element
In addition to the two pilot tests, another fundamental element in the electrification plan for the docks of the Port of Barcelona is the construction of a new electrical substation on the Ronda Litoral by Red Eléctrica, with a capacity of 220 kV. The future infrastructure, located very close to Moll Príncep d'Espanya, is expected to be included in the investment plan foreseen by the company until 2026, which still has to be approved and is expected to be done in this first quarter of the year.
In the new substation, the port will be one of the main consumers, with a demand of 80 MW. The approval of Red Eléctrica's investment for this new energy source will be a first step, but it is estimated that it will take four years until the docks can connect to it. While this does not happen, the Port of Barcelona will promote different pilots, as well as develop the medium voltage electrical network throughout the infrastructure, which will involve laying 240 kilometers of cable and making 20.5 kilometers of conduits to the terminals, Calvet pointed out. An electrical substation will also have to be built in the port itself, which will be the one that connects with Red Eléctrica's and distributes energy throughout the infrastructure.