Energy Management in Green Ports and Maritime Transportation

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting the contribution of articles to this Special Issue entitled “Energy Management in Green Ports and Maritime Transportation”.

The environmental impact of the maritime transport sector has proliferated in recent decades. According to the IMO (International Maritime Organization), maritime transport is responsible for almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions (IMO,2020), while the EU (European Commission) estimates that over 70% of the fuel consumed by ships is heavy fuel oil. Maintaining energy efficiency in ports is particularly crucial, especially when they are located close to urban areas. The problem of fossil fuel and noise pollution is caused by berthed ships, which keep their auxiliary engines running in order to produce energy to cover the hotelling services (lighting, indoor air conditioning, fans, pumps and others). The emission of pollutants can easily be conveyed towards the city.

In addition, in port areas, there are often also commercial, productive and internal transport activities, as well as the technological systems of internal buildings that require significant amounts of energy.

This Special Issue aims to collect articles addressing the energy management strategies employed to mitigate the environmental impact of ports, both on the ships and shore. An example is Cold Ironing (CI), which enables an onshore power supply to satisfy the energy demand of berthed ships. Traditional CI withdraws energy from the local grid and puts it under pressure with continuous peaks of demand, especially in larger ports. The local production of energy from renewable sources is a promising solution. From the perspective of green ports and the development of micro-grids, the integration of renewables sources in ports is fundamental. In this way, port areas can be transformed into Renewable Energy Communities (RES), involving both energy producers and consumers. Solar and wind energy, hydrogen plants, and hybrid solutions combining more sources (both in port and on ships) will enhance the energy efficiency and self-sufficiency of ports.

We would like to invite you and your colleagues to contribute original research papers to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Paolo Principi
Guest Editor

Dr. Daniele Colarossi
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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• cold ironing
• energy management
• microgrid
• renewable energies
• renewable energy communities
• smart ports
• green ports
• optimization
• forecasting
• energy production
• energy storage
• energy demand
• shipping
• photovoltaic
• wind energy
• biomass
• hydrogen
• environmental impact