Ports should become energy hubs with a priority in the use of RES

The Secretary General of Energy and Mineral Resources, Alexandra Sdoukou, referred to the priority of upgrading ports to energy hubs with the promotion of the use of RES and especially photovoltaics, participating in a working meeting on “Energy upgrading of ports through electrification” organized by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) with the participation of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, the Energy Regulatory Agency and the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy.

As Ms. Sdoukou stressed, “ports must become energy hubs, where the production, storage and distribution of electricity will coexist.” She also noted that according to European Directive 2014/94, European ports are required to have onshore power facilities for moored ships by the end of 2025.

“Our country with a predominantly maritime tradition and a large number of ports must act in a coordinated manner to reduce their environmental footprint, taking into account that as a tourist destination our country accepts different types of ships, including cruise ships with very high energy needs, of the order of 15 MW,” she pointed out. In this direction, “zeroing the emissions of ships, when they moor in ports, by providing electricity them from land, so as not to use their engines that burn oil is a very important step.”

RES use is a priority 

In addition, the main priority of RIS is the promotion of the use of RES with actions to improve energy efficiency in the country’s ports. “RES and especially photovoltaics, the cost of electricity generation of which has become very competitive in recent years, it is necessary to join the ports, both to cover consumption in buildings in the form of self-generation, and in the electrification of some basic consumption, such as electrification of domestic buses and machinery and electrification of ships “, said Mrs. Sdoukou.

Important conditions, as he noted, to achieve all the above are the correct measurement of energy consumption for ships and cruise ships, as well as the recording of network infrastructure, which has already begun by the NTUA, in collaboration with Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator and the Energy Regulatory Agency