Developing Smart Energy Communities around Fishery Ports: Toward Zero-Carbon Fishery Ports

Abstract

Air quality and energy consumption are among the top ten environmental priorities in seaports as stated by the European Sea Ports Organization. Globally, it is estimated that 15% of energy consumption can be attributed to refrigeration and air conditioning systems in fishing activities. There is a real need to understand energy usage in fishery ports to help identify areas of improvements, with a view to optimize energy usage and minimize carbon emissions. In this study, we elaborate on ways in which a simulation capability can be developed at the community level with a fishery port, using a real-world case study seaport in Milford Heaven (Wales, UK). This simulation-based strategy is used to investigate the potential of renewable energy, including local solar farms, to meet the local power demand. This has informed the development of a simulation-based optimization strategy meant to explore how smart energy communities can be formed at the port level by integrating the smart grid with the local community energy storage. The main contribution of the paper involves a co-simulation environment that leverages calibrated energy simulation models to deliver an optimization capability that (a) manages electrical storage within a district an environment, and (b) promotes the formation of energy communities in a fishery port ecosystem. This is paving the way to policy implications, not only in terms of carbon and energy reduction, but also in the formation and sustained management of energy communities.

Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic System for Fishery Cold Storage Based on Ownership Models and Regulatory Boundaries in Indonesia

“…The activities most often occur in the morning when the fishermen have pulled over at the fish auction place. We got the same reference with other research [14], with the same cold storage capacity and mobilization time. Then the characteristics of the region are also the same (north coast of Java).…”

“…There is a substantial quantity of electricity used by refrigeration equipment. The electricity that is dependable and efficient is required to cool fish in cold storage [13,14]. This means fishery industries have to undergo an energy transition because it uses a lot of energy, especially in the cold storage sector [15].…”

A Review of Key Technologies and Trends in the Development of Integrated Heating and Power Systems in Agriculture

“…In foreign countries, the fishing industry relies heavily on fossil fuels. A series of experimental research was carried out on energy-saving research on fishing vessels [ 106 , 107 ], fishing gear [ 108 , 109 , 110 ], fishing ports [ 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 ] and other sources of fishery energy consumption. For the recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in China [ 116 ], which are a cooperative combination of fish culture (aquaculture) and nutrient solution for soilless plant production (hydroponics), vegetables and fish in RAS grow rapidly at higher temperatures [ 117 ] and thus, the system must be heated.…”

Design, Sizing, and Energy Management of Microgrids in Harbor Areas: A Review

“…These loads represent 80% of the annual energy demand of a seaport [47]. In addition, the refrigeration and air conditioning for fishing activities can represent significant energy consumption [57]. • Shore-to-ship facilities: the energy demanded depends on the kind of vessel (cargo, oil tanker, reefer cargo, passenger vessel, etc.…”

“…Renewable energy sources: the most frequently considered renewable energy sources are solar photovoltaic panels and wind turbines [30,32,33,37,40,48,57], as these present an advanced technology readiness level. The installed power amounts to several megawatts.…”