BARCELONA, Spain, July 25 -- Barcelona is the first port in the Mediterranean to supply berthed ships with electricity from renewable sources, after the installation this week of an Onshore Power Supply (OPS).

The inauguration of the OPS connection at the Hutchison Ports BEST container ship terminal is the first step in the ambitious "Nexigen" project to electrify all of the Spanish port's docks.

A second OPS will be unveiled in the ferry terminal in January. Meanwhile, more electrical connections are due to be installed by 2030, when the system will become mandatory in the European Union (EU) as a key measure in decarbonizing the maritime sector.

"We're carrying out the OPS projects in parallel and with a continuous tendering process..., so I think it's realistic that we'll get to 2030 with cruise ship, container ship and ferry terminals ready," Ana Arevalo, head of the Shorepower Department of the Port of Barcelona, told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday.

The benefit of an OPS is mainly environmental, Arevalo explained, since it allows berthed ships to turn off their auxiliary engines and prevent large amounts of CO2 emissions.

Barcelona is the second port in Europe to introduce the innovative OPS system, after Hamburg did so in January. The German port authorities helped Barcelona develop its own system.

"We set up working groups to exchange technical information with European, American and Asian ports, because there aren't many ports with these systems," said the port executive.

Arevalo added that the Port of Barcelona would be "delighted" to pass on the expertise it has gained to other ports around the world.

The port estimates that each container ship spends over 41 hours at berth, consuming some 73 MWh of energy. However, the OPS could prevent over 49 tons of CO2 emissions per ship.

In the run-up to the EU's 2030 deadline, being able to offer an OPS service to ships could also give the port a competitive edge, Arevalo said.

"With all the legislative measures that are affecting ship operators, the fact that ports can offer infrastructure that helps them on that path towards the decarbonization of the maritime sector is very interesting on a competitive level," she explained.

The port estimates that the Nexigen project will eliminate 2,500 tons of CO2 each year, the equivalent of 135,000 cars driving at 30 km/h for a year. It aims to cut CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and become emissions neutral by 2050.

  - Xinhua