Development and operation of a GREEN energy community in the port of MOTRIL

Introduction

In line with the EU solid framework for a prosperous climate-neutral economy and the recent publication of the EU Green Deal, where a clear commitment is placed to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with waterborne transport, GREENMOTRIL aims to become a pioneering project in the decarbonization roadmap of European ports.

Project Objectives

To this end, GREENMOTRIL aims to demonstrate the technical, environmental, and economic benefits of implementing a smart self-managed energy community entirely powered by Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the port of Motril.

Key Features

This approach will allow this port to become the first seaport in Europe able to work completely off-grid thanks to the deployment of:

1. A 2.5 MW PV plant
2. A storage system of 4 MWh with grid-forming capacities and frequency supply
3. An innovative microgrid management system
4. A communication system based on edge multi-protocol concentrators
5. A robust cybersecurity framework

Community Participation

This approach will ensure the participation of the end users in the community management, providing flexibility services through demand response schemes. This will allow a high replication potential of the GREENMOTRIL concept and solutions not only in the European seaport sector (counting with 340 commercial ports) but also in other energy communities.

Environmental Impact

GREENMOTRIL will enable the yearly integration of 6,300 MWh of renewable energy in the port, achieving a GHG reduction of 29.2 kton CO2 over ten years of operation associated with the daily activity of the industries located in the port and the ships connected to the Onshore Power Supply (OPS).

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Moreover, GREENMOTRIL is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) initiative, particularly:

• SDG 3
• SDG 7
• SDG 8
• SDG 9
• SDG 13
• SDG 14
• SDG 17

Project Coordination

The project will be coordinated by CUERVA, a Distribution System Operator (DSO) very active in the generation, operation, and commercialization of renewable energy with extensive experience in R&D European projects, alongside APM, the owner of port facilities, and SIEMENS, a worldwide reference company in the digitalization and automation of microgrids.