The Port of Valencia has secured aid from the European Commission for two projects aimed at facilitating and accelerating the possibility of connecting ships to the electricity grid.
The first of these, the Global EALING Project, European flagship action for cold ironing in ports, expresses the need to accelerate efforts to tackle climate change, contribute to the transition to cleaner energy for maritime transport services provided in port areas and meet the new conditions arising from the technological breakthrough towards electrification.
The project will focus on carrying out the necessary studies to meet the need to build new onshore power supply infrastructure or upgrade existing infrastructure in participating ports, in line with the implementation of land-based electricity use in TEN-T core network ports and other ports by the end of 2025.
It will also focus on preparing the final documentation for the tenders so that work can start after the completion of the necessary studies for each participating port.
The objective of the second of the projects, EALINGWorks Valenciaport, is to prepare the port’s electrical grid for the supply of onshore power supply to container ships, ferries, and cruise ships in the new container and passenger terminals of the port.
The project will allow for the co-financing of the electrical substation of the Port of Valencia, which recently received the approval of the Generalitat.
The two projects are being selected at a time of increasing demand for electricity from ships at berth. Hence, the port requires improvement of the entire electricity network.
Currently, the port of Valencia receives medium voltage electricity (20kV) from three different high and medium voltage electrical substations: ST LA PUNTA, ST GRAO and ST ALAMEDA.
“The use of 20kV combined with the security of supply requirements in the ports means that the maximum amount of energy to be demanded from the general network for non-instantaneous use must not exceed 13 MW,” the port said.
“The average total power demand in the port falls around 7 MW, with demands of around 10 MW being very common. Considering the current characteristics of the port’s power grid, it is not realistic to consider an OPS at the docks of the Port of Valencia, unless the power grid is improved.”
Both projects were studied and drafted by the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the ValenciaPort Foundation—World Maritime News.
