Bilbao Port and VINCI Energies Spain trust in Ormazabal and Ingeteam to electrify the docks of the Port of Bilbao
The use of OPS technology will enable the supply of electricity to ships from the electricity grid at berths A-5.1 and A-6.1, without the need to keep the auxiliary engines running and eliminating all noise, vibrations and emissions.
The joint solution, provided by Ormazabal, an expert in customised, high-tech electrical solutions, and Ingeteam, a company specialising in energy conversion, responds to the Port of Bilbao’s strategic plan to electrify up to 11 berths.
Both companies are confirmed as benchmarks in OPS type solutions, after having supplied their technology for the electrification of the Port of Cadiz during the past year.
The electrification of the activity of European ports has emerged as one of the great technological challenges for the operators of these infrastructures, who, in full growth of maritime transport, have to comply with the European regulations to guarantee their ecological transition and eliminate environmental pollution, both in the ports and in the neighbouring populations.
The BilbOPS project is a strategic investment aimed at electrifying the docks with 11 connection points, integrating the generation of renewable energies from 4 photovoltaic plants. Bilbao Port and VINCI Energies Spain have entrusted Ormazabal, an expert in customised, high-tech electrical solutions, and Ingeteam, a company specialising in energy conversion, to guarantee the medium voltage electricity supply for the ships docking at the A-5.1 and A-6.1 quays of the Port of Bilbao, the main port infrastructure in the north of Spain. This is the first phase, which will subsequently cover all the cruise, ferry and container quays, incorporating solutions for both energy supply and control and protection of the port-ship interconnections themselves.
Ormazabal and Ingeteam will supply the first 2 connection points to electrify the ro-ro traffic berth in the port of Bilbao. In this way, they will provide an integral project, which includes all the necessary service and user layers, completed with a highly customised supply, and with a design aimed at achieving plug & play functionality in the field.
This type of solution, known as On-shore Power Supply (OPS), enables the supply of electricity to ships from the port’s electricity grid, without the need to keep their auxiliary engines running to produce it, eliminating all noise, vibrations and polluting gases harmful to the population centres closest to these infrastructures. Both companies deployed this technology last year in the Port of Cadiz, electrifying the passenger terminal of the Cadiz infrastructure.
Technical solution for port electrification (OPS Technology)
The joint solution of Omexom Spain, the specialised energy infrastructure brand of VINCI Energies Spain, and its partners, Ormazabal and Ingeteam, allows a high level of engineering integration that will improve the overall quality of the service, reducing commissioning times, increasing the simplicity and maintenance of the electrical connection, avoiding installation errors in the field, and guaranteeing system operation with the most demanding quality levels. It will also contribute to a 25% increase in energy transfer.
Thus, the solution, developed jointly by Ormazabal and Ingeteam, is based on a grid connection centre with an output to two OPS installations. The power supply is guaranteed thanks to two transformers, which will be responsible for reducing the input voltage of the grid; then two converters manufactured by Ingeteam establish the operating frequency of the moored ship; and finally, another two transformers will raise the voltage again for distribution throughout the port.
Thanks to the expertise of both companies, the same step-up transformer can deliver power to the ship in an automated way, which simplifies connection operations.
About the BilbaOPS project
The BilbOPS project developed by the Port Authority of Bilbao is a strategic investment aimed at establishing green corridors with the ports in its area of influence, mainly northern Europe, for which the first of the actions consists of electrifying the container, cruise and ferry docks with 11 connection points, integrating the generation of energy from 4 photovoltaic plants. The final objective is to achieve that at least 30% of the energy supplied to the ships is of renewable origin.
For the financing of the project, the Port Authority of Bilbao counts on the contribution of funds from the NEXT GENERATION and CONNECTING EUROPE FACILITY (CEF) programmes of the European Union.
Thanks to BilbOPS, the Port of Bilbao will be closer to meeting the ‘Fit For 55’ objectives of the European Union, reducing the Port’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. With this project and other complementary measures, the 55% emission reduction target set by the European Union for 2030 will be achieved. BilbOPS will allow a qualitative leap in the Atlantic Arc, adapting the infrastructure of the Port of Bilbao and providing this new service.
