New joint venture to scale up renewable energy use in Port of Hamburg

Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and electricity supplier Hamburger Energiewerke (HEnW) have decided to create a joint venture to drive forward the decarbonization of the Port of Hamburg.

As informed, the JV aims to expand renewable energies such as photovoltaics and wind power in the port area and develop renewable energy solutions.

The new company, Erneuerbare Hafenenergie Hamburg GmbH, will be managed as an equal partnership in which the two companies complement each other’s expertise and capabilities.

“The HPA sees its sustainable actions as a worthwhile task for the future. For this reason, we are committed to forward-looking and innovative technologies and their use in the port in the interests of decarbonisation. Having intensively promoted shore-side power supply in recent years, we would also like to play an active role in the expansion of renewable energy generation in the port area,” Friedrich Stuhrmann, Managing Director of the Hamburg Port Authority, commented.

“With Hamburger Energiewerke, we have a strong partner at our side here. The energy transition requires considerable investment, but it also offers many opportunities that we want to utilise intelligently. Being close to consumers saves transmission routes and therefore costs.”

The HPA is responsible for the management and development of the areas in the harbour and is also an electricity consumer. HEnW has the necessary experience for the planning, construction and operation of plants for the production of renewable energies. It also has the energy industry expertise and operates on the electricity market.

As a first step, specific projects with a total potential of around 70 megawatts will be analyzed as part of feasibility studies. Additional areas for further expansion in the harbour are continuously being examined.

“This unique cooperation between the municipal companies Hamburger Energiewerke and HPA will drive forward the decarbonisation of the port. A large proportion of the electricity requirements of the port industry, the HPA and the port companies will now be covered by renewable energies such as wind power and PV systems in the medium term,” Jens Kerstan, Senator for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture, said.

“Hamburg has already succeeded in installing wind turbines in the particularly difficult harbour environment. This is rare in Europe and unique in Germany. The new company will further consolidate this. In Hamburg, we are shaping the energy transition in all areas and setting standards. And I am grateful that with HEnW and HPA, two important municipal companies are now also pulling together in this area.”

“The Port of Hamburg is an international logistics hub and an important industrial area. In addition to the production, processing and handling of goods, the port also contributes to the energy supply – and in future, its own needs will increasingly be met by generating energy on port land. In particular, the additional use of previously unused areas – such as the roofs of halls and warehouses or peripheral areas – offers the opportunity to make an important contribution to decarbonisation,” Melanie Leonhard, Senator for Economics and Innovation, explained.

“Erecting wind turbines in the harbour is no trivial matter, as the approval requirements there are much stricter than on greenfield sites. In addition to nature conservation concerns and air traffic, special operating conditions must also be taken into account to ensure that the wind turbines fit in smoothly with the local infrastructure and the operations of the companies based there,” Michael Prinz, Managing Director of Hamburger Energiewerke, noted.

“We have already erected six turbines in the harbour and therefore have the experience to build and operate renewable energies in this urban area. Even if it won’t be easy, we are very pleased to be working with the HPA to drive forward the expansion of ground-mounted PV systems and wind power in Hamburg.”

The company is to be founded in the spring of this year, subject to a positive outcome of the audit, in line with the state budget regulations.

The future ground-mounted PV and wind power plants will primarily supply the HPA and local port companies with green harbour electricity. HEnW will be responsible for operating the plants, which will then also handle the renewable electricity generated and supply it to the electricity consumers.