Rome, February 2nd 2010 - Venice and La Spezia are set to become "green ports": together with the port of Civitavecchia they will be the first in Italy to apply the most advanced energy technologies to port operations. The presidents of the Port Authorities of Venice, Paolo Costa, and La Spezia, Lorenzo Forcieri, today joined the CEO and General Manager of Enel, Fulvio Conti, in Rome to sign protocols of understanding aimed at reducing the emissions produced by operations at these two major Italian ports.
One of the main objectives of the project is the development of a system to supply shore-side electrical power to vessels in their berths, especially cruise ships essentially floating cities with thousands of "residents" during their port visits, eliminating the emissions produced by their on-board generators.
Such systems are already in place at a number of ports in North America (Los Angeles, Seattle, Juneau and Vancouver) and Europe (Lübeck and Götheborg) and are under study in many other major ports around the world. The greater efficiency and emissions abatement technologies of generation plants compared with on-board generators can reduce CO2 emissions by more than 30% and those of nitrogen oxides and particulates by more than 95%, while eliminating noise pollution entirely. Enel has already designed the first such "cold ironing" system in the Mediterranean for the port of Civitavecchia.
The protocols envisage the delivery of a broad range of services with a high environmental value: the development of electric-powered mobility systems and renewables such as solar and wind power in port areas, the adoption of low-consumption LED lighting system, artistic lighting initiatives and, in general, improving the efficiency of port energy systems.
Specific working groups will be tasked with defining the costs, schedule and procedures for the project in the coming months. The initiative will be coordinated by Enel's Engineering and Innovation Division, with the participation of various Enel Group companies.