Port lays out ambitious solar and wind plans

The panels will be placed on the roofs of 26 buildings in the first stage of a target to cut emissions to zero at the port. 

The second phase will be to ‘re-power’ wind turbines along the River Mersey, in other words, replace the existing five machines with four larger ones.

The new ones will increase the power generation capacity of the turbines to 20MW to complement the solar panels’ capacity of 31MW, which is estimated to be 25% of the port’s needs.

Port of Liverpool owner Peel Ports has signed a 25-year agreement with Eon in a bid to achieve net zero emissions throughout its operations by 2040.

All equipment and machinery needed for the installation work will be delivered to the port by sea to avoid snarling up the road network, the developers say.

“Ports of the future need to become more sustainable environments and we must play our part in a greener supply chain,” said Claudio Veritiero, Peel Ports CEO. “There is still work to do, but this project is a huge step for Peel Ports Group in cutting emissions and driving our ambition to become a net zero port operator by 2040.”

Planning applications have been made to the authorities for the solar panels to be installed by the middle of 2026 and the turbines re-powered from 2027.