The Port of Bilbao will receive European funds for the electrification of its docks
The European Commission has selected the Port of Bilbao Docks Electrification Project (BilbOPS) as one of the 135 European initiatives eligible for subsidies within the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) mechanism.
Specifically, 45 projects with Spanish participation have been submitted to the 2021-2027 CEF call, and only seven have passed this first phase, which is now expected to be ratified after completing the following administrative procedures.
The connection to the electrical network of ships in the port of Bilbao is a project promoted by the Port Authority that has received the support of 36 entities, shipping companies, European ports, clusters of the port community and institutions, including the surrounding municipalities. It requires an investment of 51.8 million euros and already has a grant of 4.3 million euros for the new A5 wharf through the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. The current resolution would mean a subsidy of 30%, that is, 14.2 million for the cruise, ferry and container docks in the port of Bilbao.
“The selected projects”, the European organization has indicated, “were presented in response to the calls for proposals published within the framework of the CEF, the European Union’s financing instrument for strategic investment in transport infrastructure”. Brussels has underlined that all the selected projects “are in the trans-European transport network”, and has recalled that its objective “is to complete the main network by 2030 and the global network by 2050, while guaranteeing that its infrastructures help the European Union to meet its climate objectives, as established in the European Green Deal”.
The Port Authority’s project consists of deploying technology known as OPS (onshore power supply) to electrify the docks. This technology, which will be available in 2025, will allow ships to connect to the electricity grid, turning off their auxiliary diesel engines. Thanks to this project called BilbOPS, vibrations and noise will be reduced, as well as greenhouse gases by 40%. With this initiative and other complementary measures, the Port Authority hopes to achieve the 55% emission reduction target established by the European Union for 2030.
The project also incorporates facilities for the generation of renewable energies such as solar photovoltaic, wave and wind power. This new service for alternative fuels will contribute to the acceleration of the energy transition with other projects such as the new Petronor plant for the production of synthetic fuels from green hydrogen.
First phase of the central breakwater, another project with support from the EC
Recently, the Port Authority has carried out another project financed by the European Commission, in this case in the 2014 “Connecting Europe Facility” call and has contributed 20% of the investment. This is the first phase of the Central Jetty, with 1,120 meters of berthing line, 362,000 square meters of surface, and an investment of 112 million euros.
The Central Pier will be, precisely, one of the docks that, in addition to having rail infrastructure, will have the facility for ships to connect to the port’s electrical network.