This study analyses the relation between management practices and the performance of Brazilian port authorities. In order to do so, a survey-based evaluation tool of the quality of management practices was developed. In addition, a set of operational and financial performance indicators of such port authorities and their ports was calculated. The differences in operational and financial performance between port authorities with a high and a low quality of management practices were analysed by Student t-tests and the relation between management practices and port performance was accessed through linear regression analysis. The results indicated that the better managerial practices have a positive impact on port authorities' financial performance but have no significant impact on ports' operational performance. The study also found that port authorities controlled by States and Municipalities have better financial and operational results and use more management practices than those managed by the Brazilian Federal Government.
This paper proposes an economic and resilient operation architecture for a coupled hydrogen-electricity energy system operating at port. The architecture is a multi-objective optimization problem, which includes the energy system optimal economy as the goal orientation and the optimal resilience as the goal orientation. The optimal resilience orientation looks for the best resilience performance of the port through reasonable energy management including (1) reducing the amount of electricity purchased by the port power grid from the external power grid (2) improving the energy level of electric energy storage (3) improving the energy level of hydrogen energy storage. Taking the actual coupled hydrogen-electricity energy system of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port as an example, four typical scenarios were selected according to renewable generation and load characteristics, and a comparative analysis was carried out during the oriented operation. The results show that although the resilience orientation increases the operating cost compared with the economic orientation, the four scenarios reduce the load shedding by 44.84%, 30.26%, 48.49% and 34.37% respectively when the external power grid is disconnected. The impact of changes in resilience-oriented weight coefficients and hydrogen price on system resilience performance was investigated to provide more references for decision makers.
This paper proposes a multi-time scale scheduling strategy for a practical port coupled hydrogen-electricity energy system (CHEES) to optimize the integration of renewable energy and manage the stochasticity of port power demand. An optimization framework based on day-ahead, intra-day and real-time scheduling is designed. The framework allows coordinating adjustable resources with different rates to reduce the impact of forecast errors and system disturbances, thus improving the flexibility and reliability of the system. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is verified by a case study of the actual CHEES in the Ningbo Zhoushan Port, and the impact of equipment anomalies on the port power system operation is studied through simulation of different scenarios. The results show that compared with a scheduling scheme without energy management strategy, CHEES with multi-time scale scheduling can save 25.42% of costs and reduce 14.78% of CO 2 emissions. A sensitivity analysis is performed to highlight the impact of hydrogen price and soft open points (SOP) rated power on the system economy. This study not only provides a new perspective for the optimal scheduling of port energy systems, but also provides a practical framework for managing port energy systems to achieve green transformation and sustainable development.
Seaports consume a large amount of energy and emit greenhouse gas and pollutants. Integrated multiple renewable energy systems constitute a promising approach to reduce the carbon footprint in seaports. However, the intermittent nature of renewable resources, stochastic dynamics of the demand in seaports, and unbalanced structure of seaport energy systems require a proper design of energy storage systems. In this paper, a framework for multi-objective optimization of hybrid energy storage systems in stochastic unbalanced integrated multi-energy systems at sustainable mega seaports is proposed to minimize life-cycle costs and minimize carbon emissions. The optimization problem is formulated with reference to the energy management of the integrated multi-energy system at the seaport and considering both distributed and centralized hybrid energy storage configurations. Wavelet decomposition and double-layer particle swarm optimization are proposed to solve the multi-objective optimization problem. The real power system of the largest port worldwide, i.e., the Ningbo Zhoushan Port, was selected as a case study. The results show that, with respect to a situation with no energy storage system, the proposed approach can save 81.29 million RMB in electricity purchases and eliminate approximately 497,186 tons of carbon emissions over the entire lifecycle of the energy storage system. The findings suggest that the proposed hybrid energy storage framework holds the potential to yield substantial economic and environmental advantages within mega seaports. This framework offers a viable solution for port authorities seeking to implement hybrid energy storage systems aimed at fostering greater sustainability within port operations.
Port Integrated Multi-Energy Systems (PIMES) play a critical role in advancing sustain-ability at ports. Assessing the dynamic contribution of PIMES to port sustainability is essential for guiding future developments. This research introduces an innovative multi-criteria dynamic sustainability assessment framework tailored to evaluate the performance of PIMES. The framework employs a diverse set of indicators covering multiple criteria to comprehensively assess different aspects of PIMES. A game theory-based combined weighting approach is uniquely applied to integrate subjective and objective evaluations, ensuring a balanced and robust assessment. Furthermore, the cloud model is utilized for an in-depth evaluation of the overall sustainability of PIMES, offering a novel perspective on managing uncertainty. The framework's applicability and effectiveness are demonstrated through a case study of the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, with a sensitivity analysis of the indicators conducted to enhance reliability and confirm the robustness of the proposed method. The evaluation results indicate that during the development of the PIMES, the sustainability performance of the studied port improves progressively, with ratings of “average”, “poor”, “average”, “average”, “good”, and “excellent”. The sensitivity analysis shows that the sustainability of ports is most influenced by the failure loss rate and operation & maintenance cost of PIMES. This framework can serve as a decision-making tool for port authorities to enhance energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and achieve long-term sustainability objectives at ports.
Implementation of alternative energy supply solutions requires the broad involvement of local communities. Hence, smart energy solutions are primarily investigated on a local scale, resulting in integrated community energy systems (ICESs). Within this framework, the distributed generation can be optimally utilised, matching it with the local load via storage and demand response techniques. In this study, the boat demand flexibility in the Ballen marina on Samsø—a medium-sized Danish island—is analysed for improving the local grid operation. For this purpose, suitable electricity tariffs for the marina and sailors are developed based on the conducted demand analysis. The optimal scheduling of boats and battery energy storage system (BESS) is proposed, utilising mixed-integer linear programming. The marina’s grid-flexible operation is studied for three representative weeks—peak tourist season, late summer, and late autumn period—with the combinations of high/low load and photovoltaic (PV) generation. Several benefits of boat demand response have been identified, including cost savings for both the marina and sailors, along with a substantial increase in load factor. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm increases battery utilisation during summer, improving the marina’s cost efficiency. The cooperation of boat flexibility and BESS leads to improved grid operation of the marina, with profits for both involved parties. In the future, the marina’s demand flexibility could become an essential element of the local energy system, considering the possible increase in renewable generation capacity—in the form of PV units, wind turbines or wave energy
Integrated community energy systems are an emerging concept for increasing the self-sufficiency and efficiency of local multi-energy systems. This idea can be conceptualized for the smart island energy systems due to their geographical and socioeconomic context, providing several benefits through this transformation. In this study, the energy system of the Ballen marina—located on the medium-sized Danish island of Samsø— is investigated. Particular consideration is given to the integration of PV, BESS, and—in the future—flexible loads. For this purpose, the BESS is modelled, incorporating the battery degradation process. The possibilities to improve energy utilization and maximize self-consumption from the marina's PV units are identified and evaluated, demonstrating a substantial enhancement of the local system operation.
This chapter assesses the role of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in ports and shipping. Insights from regulatory economics are used to identify industry characteristics under which the SOE model is expected to be effective. With the use of these insights, characteristics of ports, terminals and shipping services that may lead to the establishment of SOEs are identified. The empirical overview of SOEs in shipping and ports shows a rather large use of SOEs, especially in container terminal operations and port development. The use of SOEs particularly in port development can be well understood with insights from regulatory economics. The majority of SOEs in ports, terminals and shipping are active internationally. This raises important additional research questions, most importantly regarding the strategic rationale of SOE internationalization and the role of geopolitical considerations in international activities.
The ongoing shift toward a circular economy, in which end-of-life (EOL) products are reused, remanufactured, or recycled, has major implications for seaports, especially seaports in metropolitan areas, as in such areas, huge amounts of EOL products are available. Ports are therefore relevant locations for circular economy activities. This chapter identifies the main commodities in volume terms and the set of associated activities and assesses resulting opportunities and threats for ports. Case studies of Dutch ports are used to illustrate this analysis.
There is a gradual but clear transition towards a circular economy (CE) that will potentially have significant impacts on ports, both in their function as transport nodes and as locations for logistics and manufacturing activities. A rough appraisal of new investments in circular manufacturing activities in ports in Europe drawn from organizational reports and official webpages illustrates the (slow) development of circular activities in ports. This paper is to our knowledge the first paper which deals with the implications of CE for the business model of the port development company. We assess if and how the circularity transition affects the role and business model of port authorities as developers of port clusters. We outline a framework for analyzing the consequences of CE on the business model of the port authority. We then apply this framework to get a detailed understanding of the emerging CE ecosystem in the Port of Amsterdam, which is clearly a frontrunner in the transition, and the role of the government-owned Port of Amsterdam port development company (PoA) in developing this ecosystem. In Amsterdam, a CE 'business ecosystem' has emerged and continues to evolve with three types of synergies between the companies in this ecosystem: logistics infrastructure and services synergies, input-output synergies and industrial ecology synergies. We find that the spatial scale of the CE value chains in the port varies between segments and that they are generally less international than 'linear' value chains. The development of CE activities occupies a central place in PoA's strategy, and PoA assumes new and active roles in advancing the circular business ecosystem, most notably through developing industrial ecology synergies and nurturing and attracting new, innovative CE companies. Finally, the circularity transition leads to changes in PoA's business model, with an increasing focus on new services that create synergies, and a decreasing importance of the share of port dues in the total revenue mix.