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A plan to turn the Port of Malaga green is moving forwards, where vessels mooring in the city will be able to plug into the general electricity network, enabling them to turn off their engines and generators and stop consuming fuel and emitting polluting gases.
It is estimated that a cruise ship emits the same amount of nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere in about eight hours as 10,000 cars during a berth if its diesel engines are running. During the stay, the figure drops, but the reduction in emissions can be put at 38%.
By 2030 all ports will have to supply shore-side electricity for ships to turn off their engines, according to European regulations. Malaga's Port Authority has now put out to tender those necessary for access and connection to the electricity grid to offer a power of 25 MW in its first phase. The drafting of the green port project is included in the tender, which is financed by the EU. It is a substantial investment, 1.68 million euros.
The port's green initiative was launched in 2019 with the idea that the exponential growth of the site and the presence of increasingly larger ships should have as little impact as possible on the port environment.
One of the port's commitments is to promote alternative energies to reduce emissions from ships by deploying a dockside power supply system for ships from the national grid. "Replacing on-board power with shore-based power significantly reduces pollutant emissions, as well as eliminating noise and vibration from engines. This has a positive impact on the environment, improving the quality of life in areas close to the port. The use of electrical energy from the national grid means a reduction in the emissions produced by the ship, given that the emission factor per MWh of the generators of the national grid is much lower than that of the ship's engines," pointed out the report of the project.
The future system will reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), primary particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone depleting substances.
How did the Port Authority activate this project? By asking the distribution company for the power needed in the future. A year ago, the company submitted a previous proposal for access and connection with an access capacity of 25 MW of power. The go-ahead was given but the port requested some variations, which resulted in the requirement for a new document.
The total investment is distributed in three annual instalments and the execution period is set at 30 months.
A new Perchel-Centro substation is planned and the elimination of bottlenecks not only there, but up to the Los Ramos-Universidad substation itself. The work included in this section, which involves work on installations already in service, will be carried out directly by the distribution company that owns the networks. Also included are new underground lines, connections, disconnections, dismantling, supplies, assemblies, laying and more.
Another important development was introduced on 2 November last year: for the first time the port refuelled a cruise ship with liquefied natural gas. It was a success. The recipient of the energy source was the Silver Nova, belonging to the company Silversea. It was carried out on the quay attached to the Levante dock. The transport company ESK supplied LNG to the ship from the quay, through two tankers.
Since 2020 it has been used on the Malaga-Melilla line. Currently, the ferry Rusadir, of the Baleària shipping company, refills at the dock via tanker truck from the same company. Within this framework, a technical assistance service to supervise ship supply operations has also been put out to tender for 59,800 euros. It is also financed by the EU.
Liquefied gas operations, while environmentally desirable, are sensitive and require well-established protocols. It is on the rise as a fuel in all sectors. In the maritime environment, it is being adopted especially on ferries and cruise ships. "It is a more environmentally friendly fuel due to the cleaner combustion it produces, emitting less greenhouse gases," the specification pointed out.
However, it is a cryogenic gas: hence the need for increased safety. The work put out to tender will have two phases, a first phase of management and documentary analysis and subsequently a phase of on-site verification of the development of bunkering operations for ships.
These are only the last two notable actions of the port's green programme, which, among other things, includes exhaustive monitoring through air quality measurements.
In terms of the environment, 23% of electricity consumption already comes from photovoltaics and 75% comes from non-fossil and renewable sources. In this sense, the new fish market and the Guardia Civil barracks are designed under the principle of net zero emissions and are self-sufficient.
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