Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) has worked on various projects in the Baltic Sea region in order to make this area more climate friendly and also to make boating and sailing more eco-friendly.
SAMK is leading CBSmallPorts project at the moment, with the intention of focusing on energy efficiency of the small ports of Central Baltic (CB) area. This project is making new energy efficiency investments in the small ports of Finland (including Åland), Sweden, Estonia and Latvia. Altogether, CBSmallPorts project has been making investments in 15 small ports in Finland, Sweden and Estonia.
The project’s investments have been divided into 6 periods starting from March 2020 and it is scheduled to be done until November 2022 which is the final reporting deadline of the project.
CBSmallPorts approach to energy efficiency
CBSmallPorts is making investments in the small ports of the Central Baltic Sea region to improve energy supply to be used efficiently by boaters and small ports owners and it aims to improve energy efficiency by using green technologies which lead to less CO2 emissions.
One of the main fixed costs of the small ports is electricity. Therefore, managing the efficient use of electricity has been the CBSmallPorts project’s center of focus. In order to approach energy efficiency management, the project has done many climate-friendly investments to produce eco-friendly energy such as installing solar panels and to save energy by making different investments such as installing LED lightings in the small ports and there are many environmentally friendly investments still ongoing.
What investments have been done?
Generally, there has been a variety of energy efficiency investments in different small ports in the CB area depending on the ports’ atmosphere and their needs.
Making new piers in some small ports including Dirhami located in Estonia, is a part of CBSmallPorts investments. The idea is that by installing solar panels in the mentioned port, a part of the needed electricity used in the piers will be provided in more energy efficient and sustainable ways.
As it is mentioned, to improve energy efficiency and save energy, the project has provided some small ports with LED light stands, solar light systems, cost effective lighting and smart lighting. Also, the installation process is still ongoing in other small ports which need the mentioned investments.
CBSmallPorts has made major renovations in a few small ports including renovations of two saunas in Seili small port located in municipality of Pargas, Finland. The project’s team has replaced the old wood burning stoves with new and more energy efficient electric ones and one of the saunas has received major renovation where also the walls and the floors were renovated in order to decrease the energy losses. Also, the wastewater of the sauna is now treated in proper wastewater purification plant.
To mention the main investments made by CBSmallPorts project in different small ports which are either completely done or they will be completed during the project, LED light stands have been installed in Lennusadam, Estonia, a wind generator in Lõunaranna small port, Estonia, new heat pump based heating system in Kalev yacht club small port, Estonia ongoing installation of solar panels in Roograhu, Estonia, ongoing installation of smart lighting for harbor facilities in Kärdla, Orjaku and Sõru Marinas located in Estonia, walking decks at piers (iron frames / wooden deck maintenance, recast surface of one pier) in Bläse Kalkbruk small port, Sweden, solar energy and lighting as well as water system in Klacksörarna, Sweden, modernized power line and transferred line from air to the underground and to sea bottom across a bay in Keihässalmi small port, Finland, installation of piers and ongoing installation of solar panels in Airisto Marina, Finland, solar power plant and LED lighting services in Sapokka, Kotka, Finland and guest harbor area LED lighting in Tervasaari, Finland.
Overall, as a summary of what small ports CBSmallPorts project has been working on, the project is investing in 15 different small ports which some of the investments are still ongoing. The small ports are:
• Seili located in Turku, Finland. The investments are complete.
• Airisto located in Turku, Finland. The investments are ongoing.
• Sapokka, Keihässalmi and Tervasaari, all located in South-Eastern Finland. The investments are ongoing.
• Bläse Kalkbruk located in Gotland, Sweden. The investments are complete.
• Klacksörarna located in Söderhamn, Sweden. The investments are ongoing.
• Dirhami, Lennusadam, Lounaranna, Roograhu, Kalev all located in Estonia. The investments are ongoing.
• Kärdla, Orjaku and Soru, all located in Hiiumaa, Estonia. The investments are ongoing.
New ways of cooperating during the pandemic
CBSmallPorts’ project partners were supposed to share their knowledge and experiences during the process of energy efficiency investments and marketing. They had planned to involve each other in planning, decision makings, investments, installations and basically the whole process.
Due to the Covid-19 and the restrictions, this idea was not realized, and the partners were not able to have enough physical meetings and interactions. Also, it caused some delays in component deliveries of e.g., semiconductor components that are used in PV systems i.e., in solar panels. So, the team had to adapt to the new ways of cooperation to advance the investments of the project.
All partners in CBSmallPorts did their best in using online tools to communicate and advance the project and investments. In order to develop the project, they used new ways and gained new skills and experiences which will be useful in the future.
Report on investments
To have a better picture of the investments of the project, CBSmallPorts team has gathered the detail of all the investments and practical works done implementing them to a separate document which will be published during the autumn 2021. The document will be a report on practical work done within investing small ports and best practices for energy efficiency for small ports with investments (technical specifications, tendering, new technologies to use). Through the report, port developers can get a good idea of what kind of investments were done in different small ports, how the procedures went and what were the costs. The report will also present some lessons learned during the investment process.
Text: Sina Khabbazi, Teemu Heikkinen, Hanna Rissanen, Alberto Lanzanova