4.8 Eco-efficiency

Land use (A_29)

The percentage of the service area occupied by own or concessioned active installations (8,183,132m²) is 45.86% of the total surface area (17,841,824m²), although if we refer to the 7,382,473m² of usable surface area (deducting the 10,459,351m² of marshland), the percentage rises to 41.38% of this surface area.

Water consumption (A_30)

The management of the Port’s water supply network, whose consumption points are 100% controlled, is outsourced to the Municipal Company Aguas de Huelva, which is responsible for the sale of water in the Port.

The evolution over the last three years of the Port Authority’s total annual water consumption, expressed as total cubic metres and as cubic metres per square metre of surface area of the Service Area, has been as follows:

Port Authority water consumption by use in 2023:

The Huelva Port Authority has installed meters to be better informed about consumption per application and to detect losses as a savings measure.

An increase in water consumption can be observed with respect to previous years, due to the increase in green areas to be maintained after the restoration of Avenida Francisco Montenegro and Paseo de la Ría.

Evolution, at least in the last three years, of the efficiency of the water distribution network, expressed as a percentage, for those Port Authorities that directly manage the water distribution network (A_31)

It is important to point out the major effort made by the Huelva Port Authority to avoid possible losses in water consumption. The development over the last three years is shown below:

Electrical energy consumption (A_32)

The distribution of electricity in the Huelva Port is carried out through the different ENDESA Distribución infrastructures. Since 1 July 2009, due to Decree Law 485/2009, of 3 April, operators who carry out their activity in the service area of the Huelva Port Authority have the possibility of contracting the purchase of electrical energy with the most convenient trading company on the market.

The evolution over the last three years of the total annual consumption of electrical energy in Port Authority installations and lighting in common areas, expressed as total kWh and as total kWh per square metre of Service Area, has been as follows:

Port Authority electricity consumption by use during 2023:

As a control and savings initiative, the energy efficiency project that was underway since 2019 continued to be developed in 2023. In addition, the HPA has been contracting electricity from a company with 100% renewable GdO, contributing to a 100% reduction of CO2 emissions from the Head Office.

It should be taken into account that there are new facilities in use (such as the Lonja and Ciudad del Marisco) that increase energy consumption compared to previous years.

Fuel consumption (A_33)

The evolution over the last three years of the total annual fuel consumption by the Huelva Port Authority, expressed as total cubic metres and as cubic metres per square metre of Service Area, has been as follows:

In 2023, energy efficiency measures such as the optimisation of lighting and the upgrading of the car fleet by replacing diesel vehicles with hybrids continued.