Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 12:21 by ce-press
The Port of Bilbao (PoB) has been given the green light to set up a photovoltaic (PV) solar plant to supply power to vessels at two of its three cruise ship berths: Getxo 2 and Getxo 3. This is a further step towards setting up an onshore power supply (OPS) system using green energy.
The contract for the electrification of these two docks, to be financed by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Funds) and the Bilbao Port Authority itself, is currently out to tender.
According to the PoB, the processing and preparation of the construction project and its approval will take about six months, while the works themselves are expected to take 24 months to complete. Work on the electrification of the docks is estimated to be completed in 2027, and the PV solar panels would be ready by the same date.
The cruise terminal will be equipped with three power connection points, enabling two cruiseships to be connected at the same time. The Getxo-3 berth will be equipped with two power connection points, though only one of them is to be used at any one time to service a vessel.
The idea is to position the connection points in such a way as to provide the greatest possible operational range for service provision. To this end, the installation consists of a mobile system with an operating range of 50m, which effectively means that it will be possible to supply power up to 50m to the right and to the left of each connection point, providing a total range of 100m for each one.
At each berth, the supply voltage can be either 6.6 kV or 11 kV, frequency can be 50 Hz or 60 Hz; and the maximum installed capacity will be 16 MVA.
The PV solar panels will be mounted on roofs in the terminal car park and will have an output of 0.5 megawatts. Exactly how many panels are to be installed is as yet unknown, as they will cover the entire length of the car park.
On 28 November, the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of Spain’s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, gave the green light for a €13 million investment for this BilbOPS project.
*Athletic Club Bilbao (“The Lions”), one of the most famous and successful football clubs in Spain, is opening up to cruise passengers. The club is known for its cantera, or youth policy, of bringing young Basque players through the ranks, as well as recruiting players from other Basque clubs.
A guided tour has been designed divided into two parts: the museum and the stadium. Tickets cost €15 and include an English audio guide. There is plenty of coach parking at the venue, which is open from 10.00 to 18.00 except on Mondays and match days.