- The President of the Bahía de Cádiz Port Authority and the General Manager of Endesa in Andalusia, Extremadura, Ceuta and Melilla signed a collaboration protocol, in the presence of the Minister of Industrial Policy and Energy, to support the port in the transition process towards a more sustainable energy model.
- Endesa presented a collaboration proposal to make the Port of Bahía de Cádiz a benchmark for sustainability through an ePort initiative, which will provide a working environment for a number of areas of action, including the following: Electrification, sustainable port community, industry for the transition, alternative fuels and circular economy.
- At its latest meeting, the Board of Directors of the Bahía de Cádiz Port Authority approved a concession to Endesa X, Endesa's energy services subsidiary, for the installation of the first electricity supply to cruise ships, making the Port of Cádiz a pioneer nationwide in offering this service to ships docking at the Alfonso XIII Pier.
Teófila Martínez, President of the Bahía de Cádiz Port Authority, and Rafael Sánchez Durán, General Manager of Endesa in Andalusia, Extremadura, Ceuta and Melilla, today signed a collaboration protocol for the design and planning of a series of measures to facilitate energy transition in the port environment before 2030. In the act they were accompanied by the Minister of Industrial Policy and Energy, Jorge Paradela, the territorial delegate for Industrial Policy and Energy, Inmaculada Olivero, and the delegate of the Regional Government of Andalusia in Cádiz, Mercedes Colombo.
The signing of the agreement followed the approval by the Board of Directors of the Bahía de Cádiz Port Authority for the concession to Endesa X, Endesa's energy services subsidiary, for the construction and operation of an OPS (On-shore Power Supply) installation that will supply electricity to cruise ships docking at the city's Alfonso XIII Pier. This will make the port a pioneer at national level in energy services of this kind.
This agreement will promote the transformation of energy management in the port environment, according to the parameters of European, state and regional regulations on decarbonisation before 2030
This collaboration protocol will define an action plan to establish a design to transform the Port of the Bahía de Cádiz into a greener, decarbonised port committed to renewable energies and with greater energy efficiency. To achieve this, an energy-efficient model will be created that integrates sustainable mobility, renewable energy, energy storage and the digitalisation of processes by means of "open data" and distributed platforms which will enable the Port of the Bahía de Cádiz to be a benchmark for this type of environment nationally and internationally.
For Teófila Martínez, both the protocol and the electrification project for cruise ships are two examples of the Bahía de Cádiz Port Authority's commitment to sustainability, which she confirmed "is not an option, but an obligation. We are not free to choose whether or not to be sustainable. It is something we are obliged to be and in the specific case of the Port of Cádiz we are committed to being green, "she pointed out.
In this regard, the president emphasised the need to provide leadership and play a proactive role in environmental sustainability, and recalled a number of actions within this strategy in recent years including Cabezuela's anti-pollution screens, the implementation of emission control systems, the start-up of up to three photovoltaic power plants and an eco-parking with LNG or environmental certification in progress.
Rafael Sánchez Durán stressed that "Endesa is committed to energy transition to achieve a decarbonised economy, not only in its own activity, but through value propositions that support the industrial and domestic fabric and offer solutions in local communities. To do this we have the experience of a solid company, with almost 130 years of experience, which accompanied the social and economic development of Andalusia and continues to do so, promoting cutting-edge projects in innovation such as the adaptation of cities and the Andalusian coast to the energy needs of the future".
"Endesa X will be the first company nationwide, together with the Port of the Bahía de Cádiz, to offer electricity supply services to cruise ships. To this we add today the Endesa ePort project to establish the necessary ways of working to implement sustainability transversally way in the port environment and to combine it with integration within cities", the Endesa's Territorial General Manager concluded.
The Minister of Industrial Policy and Energy, Jorge Paradela, highlighted the importance of the role of Andalusian ports as an essential part of the Andalusian economy, and stressed that "the future of maritime transport involves innovative solutions such as biofuels, batteries, renewable hydrogen and green ammonia, technologies in which Andalusia is showing its strength and ability to be a leader in this energy transition".
This is why he celebrated this public-private collaboration initiative that will be developed in the port of Cádiz, which he considered "an enormous challenge and at the same time a historic opportunity for Andalusia, since our community is renowned for being able to combine natural resources, geographical conditions and port installations that have already made it a leader in energy transition and digitalisation".
Entorno regulatorio y normativo
European ports face the challenge of responding in the short term to the regulatory requirements and initiatives integrated into different national environmental plans, including the National Air Quality Plan, the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy, as well as in the Marine Strategies and Hydrological Plans linked to the improvement of marine and coastal aquatic ecosystems.
In this regard, this action protocol offers the Port of the Bahía de Cádiz a framework for collaboration for the organisation and development of actions that will help to achieve a greener port model in an open, digital, decarbonised and sustainable ecosystem, which will enable the energy and climate objectives established by the European Union to be achieved by 2030.
ePort Areas of Action
With this in mind, the protocol focuses on the study and planning of a number of fields of action and areas of work that will enable the following objectives to be achieved:
1. Electrification of ports by promoting the electrification of operations as the most direct route to sustainability:
- Solutions for the decarbonisation of maritime transport, including OPS (Onshore Power Supply) already approved by the Bahía de Cádiz Port Authority for the connection of ships to the terrestrial electricity grid during their stay in the port, so that the auxiliary engines used to keep the vessel operating can be turned off while it remains in dock.
- The energy produced and consumed in the Port of the Bahía de Cádiz will be 100% renewable and based on a network of distributed energy resources, which will encourage shared consumption and local energy communities.
- Development of hybridised energy storage solutions that enable its maximum use.
- Reorganisation and expansion of the port's electrical infrastructures in accordance with current regulations.
- Transformation of the electricity distribution network into a smart grid, capable of integrating distributed resources and scaling up in accordance with demand and the injection of renewables.
- Development of charging infrastructures for all types of electric vehicles for the port and the city.
2. Sustainable port communities, focussed on resource efficiency through the following:
- Energy assessment for the main buildings to achieve optimal energy certifications (as close as possible to A) and development of measures that increase their efficiency (air conditioning, LED lighting, insulation, intelligent energy management, etc.).
- Development towards intelligent and efficient lighting in outdoor spaces.
- Transition of the buildings in the Port so they become NZEB (Nearly Zero-Emission Buildings) and optimisation of their intelligence and interaction with the ecosystem.
3. Industries for the transition, identifying companies related to the development of renewable energies, storage and other similar functions that have an interest in locating their activity on land in the port.
4. Urban integration and circular economy:
- Analysis of opportunities for port-city collaboration to manage the spaces more efficiently from an energy point of view.
- Circular economy measures for the management, processing and recovery of waste, turning it into resources for new economic activities.
5. Alternative fuels by promoting innovation in new fuels, such as green hydrogen, and implementing commercial solutions and services in the field of alternative fuels.
6. Digitalisation by applying an intelligent management platform for all port resources and services, based on open data schemes, sensorisation and digital transfer models (Digital Twin) and distributed management.
Public-private collaboration
This action protocol offers open and collaborative participation between all public and private entities that operate or are based in the Port of Seville and which will play a very significant role in its energy transition.
About Endesa
Endesa is the largest electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an end-to-end generation, distribution and marketing business. Through Endesa X it also offers value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy use in homes, companies, industries and Public Administrations. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the digitalisation of grids through e-distribución, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR-related matters. Our workforce numbers around 9,260 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.