The Port of Vigo consolidates its position as a benchmark in Europe in the use of clean energies

The Port of Vigo will have, from today, more efficient fishing facilities, thanks to the completion of the project to improve the energy efficiency of the fish market or "Lonja 4.0". An action that is part of the commitment of the Port Authority of Vigo with the environment and the defense of sustainability, through its Blue Growth strategy.

As highlighted by the president of the Port Authority of Vigo, Jesús Vázquez Almuiña, at the inauguration of this renovated space, which was attended by the president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, as well as the delegate of the Xunta de Galicia in Vigo, Marta Fernández-Tapias, the director of the European Fisheries Control Agency, Susan Steele, members of the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of Vigo, the director of the European Fisheries Control Agency, Susan Steele, members of the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of Vigo and the president of the Port Authority of Vigo, Marta Fernández-Tapias, Susan Steele, members of the Board of Directors and the Port's management team, State Security Forces and Corps, representatives of the Port Community, and the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Vigo, the total investment budget amounts to 2.5 M€, of which 1.9 M€ will be financed with FEDER-IDAE funds and 500,000€ through a collaboration agreement with Puertos del Estado for the development of this innovative project to improve the energy efficiency of the Lonja, within the framework of the Plan de Fomento de la Innovación para el Transporte y las Infraestructuras del Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana (Plan for the Promotion of Innovation for Transport and Infrastructures of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda). The works have been executed by the joint venture Demain Obras y Servicios, S.L. - Frimarte, S.L.

Commitment to innovation and environmental sustainability

The president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, congratulated the Port Authority for this project, which places the Port of Vigo as a reference at European level and, in this sense, he recalled the importance of innovation and environmental sustainability in the future of the ports, as fundamental criteria for action established in the new Strategic Framework of the Spanish port system.

In the words of Vázquez Almuiña, this action aims to improve the insulation conditions of the envelope of the auction room, as well as the modernization of facilities and cooling and lighting equipment and the installation on the roof of the parking solar panels for self-consumption, equipped with an innovative system of storage batteries, which will optimize the energy balance of the building, producing and accumulating energy during the day for consumption during the night, coinciding with the period of activity in the fish market. It is estimated that this system will reduce the annual consumption of the fish market by 215,000 kW.

These actions," he pointed out, "will increase the building's energy rating by one letter and will make this facility the first large fish market in Europe to operate with renewable energies with storage". To achieve this, a total of 306 photovoltaic panels of 550Wp and 2.1m2 of unit area have been installed on the roof of the Lonja. This is a total surface area of around 800m2. The total power of the installation is 147kW. It consists of 3 grid inverters, in addition to 20 lithium batteries of 180 amps.

During his speech, the president of the Port of Vigo also referred to the hard times that the sector is going through and referred to the new vetoes that would affect trawling and that are added to those that came into force last October, as well as the necessary lowering of VAT on all fishery products to promote "the multiple benefits of the Atlantic diet".

Faced with the uncertainty that haunts the sector, Vázquez Almuiña recalled the leadership of the Port of Vigo in fishing traffic and the firm commitment of the institution he presides around the defense of the environment and sustainability as priorities within its Blue Growth strategy.