13 October 2014

Shoreham Port is making significant progress in reducing its carbon footprint and the demand that every day activities have upon fossil-fuel energy sources. Shoreham are investing in improving energy efficiency and generating renewable energy within the Port, working towards a more sustainable future.

Annual electricity consumption at the Port is 1.7GWh (1,700,000kWh). The largest consumption of energy takes place within the pumphouse, where water lost through the opening and closing of the locks is replenished, essential in maintaining the water level in the canal and keeping the infrastructure secure. This process alone uses 475,000kWh of electricity each year (28% of the annual 1.7GWh).

Shoreham Port are working in partnership with Fine Energy Ltd and Norvento Wind Energy UK on a project to install two Norvento nED100 100kW wind turbines. The Port is perfectly positioned to take advantage of abundant renewable resources such as wind and solar and is already participating in solar projects across the site.

It is proposed that the two wind turbines will be situated on the outer layby, south of Basin Road. The turbines consist of a 24.5m high tubular tower, supporting a turbine with a three bladed rotor measuring 22m in diameter. This makes the turbines 35.5m to the tip of the blades. To give this some perspective, the Port’s lighting towers are 30m tall, the chimney stack of the power station has a height of 106m and typical off-shore turbines measure 180m to the blade tip.

The turbines are considered to be both well-proportioned in size and energy output, being capable of providing an average annual generation of 555,000kWh. The output from the turbines will meet a significant proportion of the Port’s energy needs, with any excess energy helping to meet the demands of the local community.

On Wednesday 22nd October at Southwick Community Centre, between 1400 and 1900, Fine Energy and Shoreham Port are inviting members of the community to a drop-in event. This is an opportunity for people to come along and find out more about the proposals and meet members of the development teams.

Peter Davies, Development Director at Shoreham Port commented “After months of planning it is fantastic to be able to present our proposals to the local community. We are confident that the investment in wind energy will substantially reduce our reliance on non-renewable energy and will place us at the forefront of sustainability within the Ports industry.”