The Port of Barcelona sent to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) the tender for the pilot project to supply electricity to container vessels in operation at the Hutchison Ports BEST terminal, according to the company's release. This pilot project, with a tender price of €5,852,487.88, is part of Phase Zero of the Wharf Electrification Plan being developed by the Port of Barcelona and includes drafting and performance of the project, as well as the ship connection and disconnection service and installation maintenance.
With planned overall investments of nearly €90 million, the Wharf Electrification Plan is one of the Catalan port's major projects to halve CO2 emissions from port operations by 2030 and become a carbon neutral port by 2050. This Plan, which will enable ships docked at the wharf to connect to the general electricity grid with clean and certified 100% renewable energy, received a major boost in March 2021 when Red Eléctrica confirmed the start of construction of the new Ronda Litoral Substation, a point to which the Port of Barcelona will ask to connect. This will make it possible to develop the Electrification Plan for the ensemble of the wharves. The new 220 kV substation will be located very close to Príncep d'Espanya wharf on the south side of the Ronda Litoral ringroad.
Now, tendering out the pilot project at the BEST terminal marks a decisive step because it involves bids to build and commission the first OPS (onshore power supply) points to operate in the commercial wharves of the Port of Barcelona. In that connection, currently the first OPS points in the port area are in operation at the MB92 Barcelona facilities. Today, some of the container vessels arriving at the port area are already prepared to connect to the power grid with OPS.
Once the BEST pilot project is underway, the Port of Barcelona will have real, useful and experience-based data on OPS performance on container vessels; it will be able to draw conclusions on best practices and identify future needs and developments, while encouraging demand for this type of system.
The tender procedure sent today to the OJEU for publication is open and will take into account the best value bid criterion.
Companies that wish to participate in bidding will have to submit their offer on the electronic tender platform of the Port of Barcelona's Electronic Portal: https://seu.portdebarcelona.gob.es/web/seuelectronica/seu-electronica.
The Port of Barcelona's Wharf Electrification Plan is fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and one of the keys to its success is achieving the Port's direct connection to the high-capacity electricity grid to meet the anticipated electricity demand of ships.