• The ports of Ferrol, Granadilla, and Leixões (Porto) will be pioneers in demonstrating how digitization and AI enable the ports to become green energy generation platforms at competitive prices and laboratories for innovation in renewable energies.
  • Over the next three years, the installation of more than 70 megawatts is expected by 2030 in the three docks. 
  • The implementation of the ENEPORTS initiative, led by ITG technology centre (ITG) and involving the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER) and Ports of Tenerife, will facilitate the installation of new renewable agents in the port environment, with socio-economic benefits for the regions through sustainable and innovative industrial growth. 

The ports of Ferrol, Granadilla, and Leixões (Porto) will be pioneers in demonstrating how digitization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) allow ports to become platforms for generating green energy at competitive prices and laboratories for innovation in renewable energies. This will be within the framework of the ENEPORTS initiative, a European consortium led by ITG technological centre (ITG) and involving the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER) and Ports of Tenerife, which seeks to show the essential role of digitalization in the decarbonization of ports and in the efficient consumption and generation of green energy.

The ENEPORTS project, presented last week in the port of Ferrol, will promote the creation of three pilot projects in the ports of Ferrol, Granadilla (Tenerife) and Leixões (Porto). Thus, during the three years of this initiative, three intelligent digital platforms will be designed, tested in the laboratory and put into operation which will allow the management of new renewable energy sources and consumption in the three ports, which will allow the avoidance each year of more than 72,250 tonnes of CO2 – equivalent to the annual emissions of 16,800 people -, contributing to the cleaning of the air in the urban areas of Ferrol, south Tenerife and Oporto.

Specifically in Ferrol, it is expected that onshore wind and photovoltaic energy will be installed with the capacity to produce more than 43 GWh/year, the energy needed to power more than 4,300 Galician homes. In Leixões, in addition to these technologies, a wave energy prototype will be added, and the sum of the three will generate more than 20 GWh per year, equivalent to powering more than 6,100 Portuguese homes. In Granadilla, offshore wind and wave energy will be used mainly to produce more than 200 GWh per year, which could supply more than 21,700 Tenerife homes. In total, the three ports plan to install more than 70 megawatts by 2030.

This initiative also promotes innovation in new renewable technologies by studying the feasibility of using devices in ports that combine photovoltaic, hydraulic and mooring line tension generation on a single platform. It is also studying how to improve control with automatic learning techniques. All this will enable the three ports to reach carbon neutrality around 2035.

The port authorities of Ferrol, Tenerife and Leixões, together with the centres participating in the initiative, have already started the study of the administrative and technological requirements to create these innovative energy ecosystems in their areas, as well as the evaluation of their economic, social, environmental and technological impacts.

ENEPORTS has a budget of more than 2.8 million euros, partly financed by the Interreg Atlantic Area call, and involves, in addition to ITG, the Port Authority of Ferrol, Tenerife, Leixões (Portugal) and Galway (Ireland); as well as the University of Galway, Builders École d’Ingénieurs and the Technological and Renewable Energy Institute of Tenerife.

Digitisation and green energy generation pilot initiatives

These pilots are based on the development of intelligent platforms for energy monitoring and management. Their deployment in ports will allow the feasibility of port renewable energy communities to be demonstrated in practice. These platforms will use predictive algorithms, digital twins, machine learning and advanced analytical tools to efficiently control energy flows and internal energy market rules, while ensuring interoperability and cybersecurity.

Part of the novelty of the project lies in the creation of replicable methodologies for port authorities in terms of involving industries and administrations; assessing the economic, environmental, social and technological impacts of hybrid systems; and raising awareness of the benefits and social acceptance of green ports.

In the words of Santiago Rodríguez Charlón, Director of ITG’s Energy Area, “ITG leads this consortium and provides its intelligent energy management platform developed for energy communities, which we will adapt for each port area, hand in hand with our partners and the port authorities, installing specific monitoring and control systems and developing digital twins of the renewable systems. In addition, we will support port authorities in designing the methodology for the deployment of renewable laboratories“.

ITER will perform a wide range of tasks in the framework of this project. From the analysis of the integration requirements of various energy sources and power quality criteria in self-consumption systems, to the electrical simulation of the grid to identify stable operating conditions of hybrid energies combining generation and storage sources. It will also be responsible for the validation of hydrogen technologies for integration into port power supply systems (OPS). In the field of digitalisation, ITER will carry out, in collaboration with ITG, the installation and commissioning of a network of monitoring equipment, followed by the development and deployment of an intelligent digital platform for the supervision and energy control of infrastructures. Finally, it will be responsible for the exploitation of data using artificial intelligence techniques to create a decision-making tool for the operation of the energy system in port environments.

A European consortium to boost the decarbonisation of ports

In a medium sized Atlantic port, the supply of fossil fuels to ships at berth represents between 80% and 95% of the emissions of the entire port area. Ports are therefore aiming to provide ships with some form of power supply solution during berthing, known as “cold ironing” or OPS (“onshore power supply”). These developments present a number of technological challenges for ports, including the integration of new consumption and new renewable sources into the electricity grid and their energy management. They also present opportunities to create new services, markets and infrastructures that can benefit their customers, their concessionaires and their neighbours.

The ENEPORTS initiative has been set up to study these challenges and opportunities in Atlantic ports, their potential impacts, and propose methodologies and recommendations to address these challenges, exploit the opportunities, and manage the impacts; including the creation of test areas for new renewable generation technologies, the installation of OPS, the formation of internal energy markets, and the management of electricity with storage, digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

The most relevant lasting effect of ENEPORTS will be the economic improvement of the regions where the pilots will be carried out. Decarbonisation and digitalisation initiatives in ports can encourage the deployment of new blue/green energy prototypes and the installation of new industrial operators, electro-intensive industries and renewable energy manufacturers, attracted by green energy at competitive prices, boosting innovation, investment and job reconversion in the vicinity of port areas; while respecting environmental and social needs, and reducing CO2 emissions and pollution in port environments in alignment with European regulations.