Danish company lands €5M contract for shore power supply works at BEST terminal

October 14, 2022, by Amir Garanovic

The Port of Barcelona has selected Danish company PowerCon to implement a pilot project that will provide electrical power to ships at the BEST terminal.

PowerCon secured the €4.97 million contract for the project as part of a larger ‘Phase Zero of the Wharf Electrification Plan’, developed by the Port of Barcelona, which includes the drafting and performance of the project as well as the ships’ connection and disconnection service and the maintenance of the installation.

The project officially started last week, with the team meeting of Port of Barcelona, which heads the pilot project, and PowerCon, and served to establish the ground rules for the performance of the construction project in accordance with the tender.

“We hope to have the construction project approved in six months, at most, so that we can start the building work,” said Ana Arévalo, Port of Barcelona’s energy transition manager.

Nexigen to cut 50% of carbon emissions at the port

Plan for pilot OPS project at the BEST terminal (Courtesy of the Port of Barcelona)

With a planned overall investment of nearly €110 million, the Wharf Electrification Plan is among the key projects promoted by the Port of Barcelona to halve CO2 emissions from port operations by 2030 and become a carbon neutral port by 2050.

The plan, known as Nexigen, will make it possible to connect ships to the general electricity grid while they are berthed, using clean energy that is generated at the port itself or that is certified 100% renewable.

Awarding the pilot project at the BEST terminal marks a decisive step towards realizing the first OPS onshore power supply (OPS) points, which will work at the port’s commercial docks. It should be remembered that the port’s first OPS points are already working at the MB92 Barcelona facilities.

Once the BEST pilot project is underway, the Port of Barcelona will have real and useful experience-based information about the performance of OPS on container ships and will be able to draw conclusions regarding best practices and identify future needs and developments, the port said.

The ‘Port of Barcelona Dock Electrification Plan’ is fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and one of the keys to its success lies in connecting the port directly to the high-capacity electricity grid to respond to expected demand for electricity from ships.