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Own power supply lowers energy costs at port operator’s Hamburg terminal
Eurogate has become the world’s first port operator to install its own wind turbine and utilise the green electricity to meet the requirements of its terminal operations.
With the help of the new wind turbine, the company aims to cover 25 to 50 percent of the total energy requirement of Eurogate’s Hamburg container terminal from its own production.
By operating its own wind turbine the company hopes to lower energy costs over the medium to long term, lower CO2 emissions per container by 25 percent by 2020, and become largely independent of price developments in the power and energy markets.
The wind turbine, standing 200 metres high, has an output of 2.4 megawatts producing a CO2 saving of 4,600 t/a.
“The current market situation is forcing us to focus on efficient cost management in order to remain competitive over the long term,” says Emanuel Schiffer, Chairman of the Eurogate Group management board.
“Electricity and energy prices are a major factor in this. By operating its own wind turbine, Eurogate is as far as possible freeing itself of its dependence on current price developments in the power and energy markets.”
Construction of additional wind turbines at other locations is currently being examined by the terminal operator. Eurogate is also constructing a CHP plant in the German city of Hamburg, which it expects to put into operation by January 2014. In conjunction with the wind turbine this will cover as much as two thirds of the container terminal’s total electricity requirement.
