Carnival Corp has announced that solar panel installations are underway on two of its Barcelona cruise terminals.
The roof-mounted solar panels, a first for the port, are capable of supplying more than 100% of the energy needed to power daily operations and will reduce overall electricity consumption.
Carnival Corp and the Port of Barcelona teamed up with a Catalonia-based solar provider to install the 1,350 panels at Palacruceros (Terminal D) and Helix Cruise Centre (Terminal E), which will collectively produce 866,000 plus kWh per year.
Work to install the solar panels began in July at Palacruceros and the whole project across both terminals is due for completion by the end of this year.
In addition, the surplus power generated by the solar panels, estimated at 32% for the Helix Cruise Centre alone, can be routed back into the local energy grid to improve the overall utilisation of renewable energy generation in the port.
In total, over 245,000 kWh of surplus power will be fed into the grid each year – equivalent to the average annual consumption of 60 households.
This project builds on Carnival Corp’s development of a new solar panel farm unveiled earlier this year at its Amber Cove Cruise Centre in the Dominican Republic, one of eight port destinations and exclusive islands owned and operated by the group.
Together, these projects mark the beginning of the company’s wider efforts to integrate renewable energy across its entire ports and destinations portfolio, Carnival said.
“The shift to renewable energy is an integral part of our global strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimise our environmental footprint at the beautiful destinations we visit,” said Karin Plettner Rutishauser, Carnival Corp’s Vice President of Global Ports and Destinations Strategy.
“By partnering with Port of Barcelona, the solar panels at our terminals will significantly contribute to the production of clean energy, benefiting both the local community and our over 1 mill cruise guests who enjoy this vibrant city each year,” she said.
“Through this latest project with Carnival Corp, we are laying the foundation for our new energy model based on renewable energy, energy storage and a smart electricity grid,” added Lluís Salvadó, Port of Barcelona President. “Sustainability has always been our main driving force and these efforts have proudly put us at the forefront of generating environmental and economic prosperity in our great port, city and region.”
As one of the most important trade ports in the Mediterranean for more than 2,000 years, Barcelona was the first cruise port in the Mediterranean with facilities to supply cruise ships with LNG and implementing air quality improvement plans to effectively reduce emissions from port activities.
Carnival Corp and eight of its cruise lines – AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and P&O Cruises (UK) – visit Barcelona throughout the year. All of the brands operate full or partial homeporting.
