Port of Valencia deploying PV on breakwaters

From pv magazine Spain

The Port of Valencia is currently installing vertical solar panels on its breakwaters under the umbrella of the European project Renewport – Harnessing RENEWable energy potential for clean energy transition of MED PORTs, which aims to support the clean energy transition of Mediterranean ports.

The contract for the project was awarded to Pavener Servicios Energéticos S.L. for €169,314.55 (around $195,000), with installation expected to be completed and operational by September 2026. The work includes the installation of the solar panels and the placement of the project’s official signage.

Launched in January 2024, the project is co-financed at 80% by the European Union through the Interreg Euro-MED programme under the Greener MED initiative. Its goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of Mediterranean ports by identifying, demonstrating, and validating innovative solutions based on renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal power. The project not only seeks to deploy new renewable energy systems but also to assess their technical, economic, and environmental feasibility in real port infrastructure.

To this end, the port tested vertically installed solar panels on a section of the North Breakwater wall in 2023 to verify the installation’s feasibility and efficiency, paving the way for the development of Spain’s first large-scale vertical photovoltaic park.

For this purpose, the Valencian startup SunnerBox developed the IT3, a proprietary solution consisting of a matrix system of photovoltaic panels mounted on a mesh structure secured with stays and tensioners anchored directly to the breakwater. According to the company, this system leverages existing infrastructure while reducing structural costs, speeding up installation, simplifying maintenance, and improving the overall viability of the project.

The pilot system consists of 21 photovoltaic modules rated at 410 W each, representing an installed capacity of 8.6 kW. The pilot is being conducted by the Port Authority of Valencia (APV) in collaboration with the Research Center for Project Management, Innovation, and Sustainability (PRINS) at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). Over a two-month period, energy generation and the structure’s dynamic behaviour will be monitored in real time using various types of sensors. The energy produced will be used to power the sensor system itself.