READ ABOUT OUR ENERGY MATTERS STRATEGY FOR HARBOURS AND FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN REDUCE YOUR ENERGY COSTS

The Pure Energy Centre (PEC), as part of the e-harbours project, is working on the Scalloway Harbour Showcase located in the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom. The challenge for the Pure Energy Centre Team was to devise a universal harbour energy monitoring strategy, showing that energy matters in a harbour set up.

The strategy aims at reducing both financial expenditures and CO2 emissions while increasing energy efficiency as well as green technologies in a harbour. The aim was also to introduce advanced e-mobility, smart grids and other e-based technologies such as remote energy monitoring systems to the harbour stakeholders. The final objective was to help harbour stakeholders understand that energy matters by defining the energy issues and the possibilities for the application of advanced energy technologies.

The Pure Energy Centre devised an innovative energy monitoring strategy, also called energy matters strategy. The rationale being that energy costs form one of the highest operational expenditures for small and medium harbours. Thus, the ever increasing cost of electrical energy for processing and heating can bring harbours all over the North Sea Region into great financial difficulties.

The application of the energy matters strategy showed that the use of a smart grid can potentially provide benefits for Scalloway harbour and could be applied to other European small to medium harbours. It was found that the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) should be fully involved in the implementation of a smart grid solution. In Shetland Islands, plans are currently being implemented by the DNO to establish a smart grid through the North Isles New Energy Solutions (NINES) project. It is hoped that once this has been setup, the benefits that smart grids can bring will be implemented in Scalloway harbour.

Historically and in the Shetland islands, it has always been a great challenge maintaining and managing grid stability, and inclusion of increasing quantities of renewable energy systems has made it even more difficult. In fact, it is now extremely difficult to connect a renewable production system to the grid. This provides a compelling argument for the implementation of smart grid technologies in the Shetland Islands.

As part of the energy matters strategy, we produced energy profiles of the different Scalloway harbour entities, and installed a multitude of advanced data loggers. The PEC team logged and analysed the harbour’s data for over a year. In addition a series of meetings with the harbour stakeholders were held where energy bills and harbour energy profiles were discussed. From this a clear picture of the harbour energy consumption and the possibilities for Demand Side Management were achieved. Meanwhile the energy awareness of Scalloway harbour’s companies increased.

Furthermore we identified a number of key issues that could be addressed to reduce the energy expenditure of the principal energy user in Scalloway. Addressing these issues could be achieved through the implementation of a series of recommendations. Some of the recommendations from the energy matters strategy included the installation of a photovoltaic system at one of the Scalloway Harbour Stakeholders, the reduction of the use of standby equipment, the reduction of equipment starting up times and the set up of a new energy efficiency  internal policies and procedures. The PEC energy matters strategy produced can be rolled out to all small to medium harbours but recommendations need to reflect what is technically feasible in each individual harbour area.

Vincenzo Ortisi from Pure Energy Centre said: “analysing the data was important as it allowed us to provide comprehensive recommendations based on information about the energy usage of the different organisations within the harbour area. By combining this knowledge with the experience on energy saving measures of PEC engineers it has been possible to provide valuable recomendation to the end users”.

What are the benefits of the Energy Matters strategy?

By applying measures like these, the harbour could save £33,000 per year from a capital investment of £340,000. This means there would be a 10 year payback period and by following these recommendations, harbour stakeholders have the potential to become more profitable, and create more jobs and wealth for the local community.

Elizabeth Johnson, from the Pure Energy Centre, states: “the financial implications and the savings that are possible within the Scalloway Harbour show that smart grids, renewable energy and other emobility products are the way forward for harbours. If applied correctly, these technologies can provide substantial savings, thereby allowing for harbour businesses to become more financially sustainable. We would urge all EU NSR harbours to apply the PEC’s energy monitoring strategy to identify opportunities for energy reduction, increased financial viability and job retention”.

Conclusions on Energy Matters in a harbour

In conclusion, the application of simple measures in any harbour can lead to savings. If Scalloway harbour was grid connected to the mainland United Kingdom, the implementation of new e-technologies such as smart grids would have been easier, and thereby lead to a much higher return and wider application of renewable energy. To conclude: smart grid technologies are crucial to harbours and easier to implement in a grid connected setup, if a lot of flexibility is available.

If you are interested in the Pure Energy Centre ‘Energy Matters’ strategy, do not hesitate to contact us by filling your request at the following link: Click Here for Energy Matters information and fill up the form.