The prospects of using electricity in marine transportation and the links with the renewable sources of energy were the main areas of discussion among the key stakeholders, during the event organised by the EU co-funded project “elemed” in Limassol.
The event brought together local stakeholders, delegates from the marine and energy industry, representatives from port authorities and governmental bodies, as well as elemed project partners.
The scope of the event was to raise awareness about elemed project work and its impact on minimising air emissions as well as to keep the public abreast on the renewable potential in Cyprus, exploring prospects of deploying shore power technologies for other uses and transport modes.
Elemed project partners presented the progress up today regarding the technical studies and the establishment of the first onshore power installation in Killini port in Greece as well as funding opportunities and schemes that could be valuable for attracting the necessary investments. Cyprus’ efforts for promoting the use of alternative fuels in marine transportation through regulatory framework and projects implementation were also discussed.
A lively discussion followed the presentations, with specific emphasis on the Cyprus case and plans for cold ironing applications; projection and estimation of the cost of electricity; feasibility of hybrid technology application for local short-sea interconnections as well as integration of renewable sources and synergies with LNG.
Elemed (Electrification in the Eastern Mediterranean) prepares the ground for the introduction of cold ironing, electric bunkering and hybrid ships across the Eastern Mediterranean Sea corridor, aiming at eliminating emissions and noise in ports and surrounding urban area. It is a co-funded by European Union project, studying all technical, regulatory and financial issues related to the establishment of cold-ironing infrastructure, in four ports (Piraeus, Killini, Limassol, Koper), involving three countries. Within elemed framework, the first pilot cold-ironing infrastructure in Eastern Mediterranean will be established in Killini Port.
